The director of the decommissioned Chernobyl plant warned that a new Russian strike could collapse the inner radiation shelter after a February drone attack damaged the New Safe Confinement (NSC). The IAEA says the shelter lost its primary safety functions but found no permanent damage to load-bearing structures or monitoring systems. Officials estimate full restoration of damaged functions will take three to four years, while radiation levels currently remain stable. About 300 small holes made during firefighting still need to be sealed.
Chernobyl at Risk: Director Warns New Russian Strike Could Collapse Inner Shelter
Kyiv has accused Russia of repeatedly targeting the Chernobyl site throughout the invasion (Tetiana DZHAFAROVA)(Tetiana DZHAFAROVA/AFP/AFP)
The director of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant has warned that a further Russian strike could cause the facility's inner radiation shelter to collapse, potentially undoing decades of containment work around the site of the 1986 disaster.
Damage, Risks and Timelines
Sergiy Tarakanov told AFP that the New Safe Confinement (NSC) — the modern outer shell placed over the reactor remains — suffered significant damage in a February drone strike that punched a hole in its roof and ignited a major fire in the outer cladding. The strike prompted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to warn that the shelter had "lost its primary safety functions."
Tarakanov said fully restoring the NSC's damaged functions would likely take at least three to four years. He cautioned that a direct hit from a missile or drone, or even a nearby impact from a heavy weapon such as an Iskander short-range ballistic missile, could trigger a "mini-earthquake" and risk collapse of the older inner steel-and-concrete sarcophagus that still encloses the reactor.
"If a missile or drone hits it directly, or even falls somewhere nearby, for example, an Iskander, God forbid, it will cause a mini-earthquake in the area... No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that," Tarakanov said in an interview last week.
IAEA Findings and Current Conditions
An IAEA inspection this month confirmed that the shelter "lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability," but noted there was no permanent damage to load-bearing structures or to monitoring systems. Tarakanov also said radiation readings at the site remain "stable and within normal limits."
The hole made by the February drone strike has been covered with a protective screen, but about 300 smaller holes created by firefighters during the blaze still need to be sealed. Those ongoing repairs, and the broader rehabilitation of damaged safety systems, underpin the multi-year recovery timeline.
Context
Russian forces captured the plant early in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and withdrew a few weeks later. The Chernobyl complex remains a site of international concern because of the potential consequences of any renewed structural damage to containment systems built to limit the release of radioactive material from the 1986 accident.
Key facts: the site includes the original steel-and-concrete sarcophagus built after the 1986 meltdown and the modern New Safe Confinement; the NSC's functionality has been compromised, repairs may take several years, and the risk from further strikes remains acute.
