Ukraine is racing to repair the New Safe Confinement over Chernobyl after a February drone strike left a large hole and raised doubts about the dome's 100-year design life. Repairs are expected to take another three to four years to restore the NSC's primary safety functions, and roughly 300 smaller holes still need sealing. Officials say radiation readings remain stable, but warn that another direct hit or a powerful nearby strike could collapse the inner shelter, posing the main threat.
Chernobyl At Risk: Ukraine Rushes Repairs On Damaged New Safe Confinement After Drone Strike
The 1986 meltdown at Chernobyl was the world's worst ever nuclear power plant incident (Tetiana DZHAFAROVA)(Tetiana DZHAFAROVA/AFP/AFP)
Inside an abandoned control room at Chernobyl's nuclear power plant, a lone worker in an orange hardhat examined a grey bank of dials and screens — the same instruments once relied upon to avert catastrophe. The 1986 reactor meltdown remains the worst nuclear accident in history, and since Russia's 2022 invasion Kyiv fears another disaster could be imminent.
Damage and Repair Efforts
In February, a Russian drone struck the New Safe Confinement (NSC) — the outer of two protective shells that cover the ruined reactor — leaving a large hole in the multi-billion-dollar structure. The NSC is the modern replacement for the inner steel-and-concrete Sarcophagus hastily built after the 1986 calamity. Plant director Sergiy Tarakanov told AFP that repairs are ongoing and it could take another three to four years before the dome regains its primary safety functions.
Safety Concerns
"It does not perform the function of retaining radioactive substances inside," Tarakanov said, echoing concerns raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The strike has also cast doubt on whether the structure can meet its intended 100-year design life. Engineers have covered the central crater with a protective screen, but about 300 smaller holes — reportedly made by firefighters while fighting the blaze — still need to be sealed.
Site Conditions and Risks
Scaffolding now climbs to the NSC's 100-metre-high ceiling, and AFP reporters observed charred debris from the drone strike on the plant floor during a December visit. An October attack on a nearby substation temporarily cut power to the confinement structure, illustrating how strikes on infrastructure can compound the plant's vulnerability.
Tarakanov warned that another direct hit, or a powerful nearby strike, could trigger a localized shockwave or "mini-earthquake" that might cause the inner shelter to collapse. Such a collapse would pose the greatest current threat to containment at the site.
Monitoring And Legacy Contamination
Officials report that current radiation readings remain "stable and within normal limits." Inside a modern control room, engineer Ivan Tykhonenko monitors 19 sensors and detection units to track conditions across the site. He noted that part of the roughly 190 tonnes of uranium present in 1986 "melted, sank down into the reactor unit, the sub-reactor room, and still exists" there — a persistent source of hazard beneath the structures.
The combination of structural damage, ongoing repairs, and the danger of renewed attacks leaves Chernobyl under a continuing cloud of risk. Experts and officials say restoring the NSC's full protective function is essential to reduce long-term danger to workers and the wider region.
Help us improve.
