An IAEA team last week completed a comprehensive safety assessment of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant site, which was seriously damaged by a drone strike in February. The attack triggered a large fire in the outer cladding of the steel structure designed to prevent radioactive releases from the reactor destroyed in 1986.
According to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, the mission confirmed that the NSC has lost its primary safety functions, including its ability to isolate the facility, but also found no irreversible damage to load-bearing structures or monitoring systems.
“Limited temporary repairs have been carried out on the roof, but timely and comprehensive restoration remains critically important to prevent further degradation and ensure long-term nuclear safety,” Grossi said.
Based on the mission’s findings, the agency recommends expanding restoration and protective measures, including strengthening humidity control, updating the corrosion-monitoring programme, and upgrading the integrated automated surveillance system for the Shelter structure built over the reactor after the accident.
In 2026, with support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, additional temporary repairs are planned at the Chernobyl site. These are needed to partially restore the confinement’s functions and prepare for full reconstruction after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“The IAEA, whose team is permanently present at the facility, will continue doing everything possible to support efforts to fully restore nuclear safety at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant,” Grossi added.
As part of its assistance programme, the IAEA has also arranged three new deliveries of equipment and materials to Ukraine. The medical unit at the Chernobyl site received medicines, and the Central Enterprise for Radioactive Waste Management was provided with personal protective equipment.
The total value of nuclear-safety equipment and materials supplied to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion has exceeded 21 million euros.