UN nuclear watchdog says protective steel structure at Chernobyl damaged in drone attack

ISTANBUL

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that the massive steel structure built to prevent radioactive leakage at Ukraine’s Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was damaged in a drone strike in February and is no longer fully performing its core safety function.

In a written statement on Friday, the UN nuclear watchdog said its experts completed an assessment last week confirming that the New Safe Confinement, the giant steel arch installed to contain contamination at the site of the 1986 disaster, suffered damage to its outer shell and experienced a fire following the attack.

The agency said that while limited temporary repairs have been carried out on the roof, the structure now requires extensive restoration to ensure nuclear safety.

The damage means the shield “can no longer fulfil its essential safety role,” the IAEA noted.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stressed that the agency, which maintains a permanent team at the Chernobyl site, will continue to support efforts to restore full nuclear safety and security.

“The IAEA, which has a permanent team at the site, will continue doing everything it can to support efforts to fully restore nuclear safety and security at the Chernobyl facility,” Grossi said.

The statement also highlighted ongoing concerns at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has been under Russian control since March 2022.

The facility temporarily lost all external power for the 11th time since the start of the conflict, following overnight military activity.

The outage lasted for about 30 minutes before the plant was reconnected to a 330-kV transmission line. Its main 750-kV line, however, remains offline.

Grossi said disruptions to Ukraine’s power grid forced operating nuclear plants in the country to reduce output, reiterating calls for restraint to avoid a nuclear accident amid continuing hostilities.

He warned that repeated power losses at nuclear sites pose “unacceptable risks” and urged all sides to protect the facilities and surrounding infrastructure.