A Russian drone strike damaged Chernobyl’s outer radiation shield, leaving it non-functional. Repairs could take up to four years, raising safety fears.
CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE: Workers are scrambling to repair a critical radiation shield at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a Russian drone strike.
The attack in February left a large hole in the New Safe Confinement (NSC), the outer of two protective shells covering the reactor that exploded in 1986.
Plant director Sergiy Tarakanov said the structure currently “does not perform the function of retaining radioactive substances inside”.
He warned repairs could take another three to four years to restore its primary safety functions.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has echoed concerns over the shield’s compromised integrity.
The strike also cast doubt on whether the NSC will last its designed lifespan of 100 years.
AFP journalists visiting the site saw the gaping crater now covered with a protective screen.
They also observed 300 smaller holes made by firefighters during the blaze still needing repair.
Scaffolding now engulfs the inside of the multi-billion dollar structure, rising to its 100-metre-high ceiling.
Charred debris from the drone strike still littered the plant’s floor during a December visit.
Russia captured the plant on the first day of its 2022 invasion but withdrew weeks later.
Ukraine has repeatedly accused Moscow of targeting its nuclear facilities, risking a catastrophic disaster.
The country regularly reduces power at its plants following Russian strikes on the energy grid.
A strike on a substation near Chernobyl in October cut power to the confinement structure.
Tarakanov stated radiation levels at the site have remained “stable and within normal limits”.
Engineer Ivan Tykhonenko monitors 19 sensors constantly tracking the site’s condition.
He confirmed that part of the 190 tonnes of uranium from the 1986 meltdown “still exists” within the reactor ruins.
Tarakanov warned another direct hit or powerful nearby strike could collapse the inner radiation shell.
“If a missile or drone hits it directly, or even falls somewhere nearby… it will cause a mini-earthquake,” he said.
“No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that. That is the main threat.”
