UN says Ukraine radioactive waste site struck

A man holds a poster which reads "No War" as people lay flowers near the place where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down, with the Kremlin Wall, left, the Spaskaya Tower, center, and St. Basil's in the background in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Denis Kaminev)

BERLIN, Feb 28 (AP/UNB) — The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says missiles have hit a radioactive waste disposal site in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, but there are no reports of damage to the buildings or indications of a release of radioactive material.

In a statement late Sunday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi says Ukrainian authorities informed his office about the overnight strike. He says his agency expects to soon receive the results of on-site radioactive monitoring.

The report came a day after an electrical transformer at a similar disposal facility in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was damaged.

Such facilities typically hold low-level radioactive materials such as waste from hospitals and industry, but Grossi says the two incidents highlight a “very real risk.” He says if the sites are damaged there could be “potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment.”