A drone armed with a warhead hit the protective outer shell of Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear plant early Friday, punching a hole in the structure and briefly starting a fire, in an attack Kyiv blamed on Russia.

Firefighters worked across the weekend to tackle smouldering roof insulation in the giant protective shelter built over Chernobyl's unit 4 following the drone strike on Friday. Radiation levels in the area remain normal - the original protective shelter inside the giant structure did not suffer any damage.

Ukraine’s nuclear ghosts have been stirred up again after a drone armed with a warhead hit the protective outer shell of the plant at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident. The strike on Friday did not breach the plant’s inner containment shell and radiation levels did not increase.

Russia has been accused of 'nuclear blackmail' as an expert warns a drone attack at Chernobyl power station will lead to rising radiation levels

The IAEA noted that Ukrainian firefighters have been working continuously to fully extinguish small fires still smoldering after the drone strike. The Russian drone punctured the roof of the New Safe Confinement,

Ukrainian emergency services confirm that a drone strike at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which Kyiv blamed on Moscow, caused an explosion, but that no radiation has been detected. Fragments of the drone remain scattered around the facility.