Europe Asia News

In February, a drone strike opened a hole in the “new safe confinement”, which had been carefully constructed next to the destroyed reactor and then moved into place on rails. The work was completed in 2019 as part of a Europe-led initiative. The IAEA said that an inspection of the steel confinement structure last week found that the drone impact had compromised the structure.

The 1986 Chernobyl explosion occurred when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union and sent radiation spreading across Europe.

During efforts to contain the meltdown, the Soviets built a concrete “sarcophagus” over the reactor with a projected lifespan of only 30 years. The new confinement was constructed to keep radiation under control during the decades-long final removal of the sarcophagus, the ruined reactor building beneath it and the melted nuclear fuel.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that an inspection mission had confirmed that the “[protective structure] has lost its key safety functions, including its containment capacity, but that there was no permanent damage to its load-bearing structures or monitoring systems.”

Grossi stated that some repairs had been carried out, but that “a comprehensive restoration is still required to prevent further degradation and to ensure long-term nuclear safety.”

The UN said that on 14 February Ukrainian officials reported that an unmanned aerial vehicle carrying a high-explosive warhead had struck the facility, causing a fire and damaging the protective cladding around the reactor. Ukrainian officials said the drone was Russian. Moscow denied attacking the site.

The UN added in its February statement that radiation levels remained normal and stable and that no radiation leak had been reported.