IAEA Issues Alert as Chernobyl Shelter Loses Containment Capabilities
The alert comes after inspectors examined damage from a February drone assault—the first significant attack targeting the protective barrier. Moscow characterized the strike as a provocation staged by Kiev, while Ukrainian authorities attributed responsibility to Russia.
The assault penetrated the exterior of the colossal steel structure designated as the New Safe Confinement (NSC), igniting a blaze. Though the initial breach produced no radioactive discharge, fresh evaluations reveal the structural compromise has undermined the shelter's capacity to secure nuclear materials.
The IAEA confirmed Friday that the NSC—a 36,000-tonne steel edifice constructed over Chernobyl's demolished Unit 4 reactor—"had lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability."
Finished in 2019 at approximately €1.5 billion (roughly $1.6 billion), the NSC was engineered to trap radioactive substances and encase the original concrete "sarcophagus" erected following the 1986 catastrophe.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that while the shelter's load-bearing infrastructure and surveillance systems remain operational, "limited temporary repairs have been carried out … comprehensive restoration is urgently required." The agency has deployed additional nuclear safety specialists to the location to evaluate the complete scope of destruction.
Russia has charged Ukraine with systematically targeting the Zaporozhye (ZNPP) and Kursk nuclear facilities, branding the assaults as "nuclear terrorism."
A Ukrainian drone hit an auxiliary structure at the Kursk NPP in late September, coinciding with a Moscow visit by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.
Days before that incident, electrical transmission lines serving the ZNPP sustained damage allegedly from Ukrainian artillery fire, compelling the facility to activate emergency generators. Russia seized control of the ZNPP in March 2022, with the territory subsequently conducting a referendum to join the country. Kiev denies culpability in the Kursk strike and has accused Moscow of attacking the ZNPP.
Speaking in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was "playing a dangerous game" by attacking nuclear sites.
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