Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Oleksandr Mishchenko issued a formal warning on 27 April 2026 that Russia's ongoing attacks near the Zaporizhzhia and Chornobyl nuclear facilities risk triggering a radiological catastrophe in central Europe. Speaking at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly's First Committee in New York, Mishchenko called for "an immediate and unconditional cessation of all military activity within a 30-kilometre radius of every nuclear facility on Ukrainian soil." Russia's delegation walked out before the vote on the non-binding resolution, which passed 97–12 with 47 abstentions.
The warning followed a concentrated Russian drone assault on 26–27 April in which, according to Ukraine's Air Force, 144 drones were launched in a single overnight wave. Air defense systems intercepted 124 of them — an 86 percent intercept rate — but 20 struck targets in the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa oblasts. Fourteen people were injured in Odesa, regional emergency services confirmed on 27 April.
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