Chernobyl Shield ‘No Longer Containing Radiation’ After Strike

Chernobyl Shield ‘No Longer Containing Radiation’ After Strike

The UN’s nuclear watchdog has issued its starkest warning yet over Chernobyl, confirming that the massive protective shield built to confine the world’s most infamous reactor is no longer performing its core safety function after a February drone strike.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure — a €2.1 billion steel arch designed to seal in radioactive material for a century — suffered “severe damage” when a drone hit the site on February 14. Ukraine blamed Russia for the strike; Moscow denied involvement. The blast ignited a fire and tore through layers of protective cladding, critically degrading the structure’s ability to contain radioactive waste.

The IAEA said the NSC has “lost its primary safety functions, including confinement,” forcing Ukraine to carry out temporary patch-ups while experts warn of accelerating corrosion and rising long-term risks. Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stressed that core load-bearing elements remain intact, but said only a full, urgent renovation can stabilise the site’s nuclear safety.

The incident has again thrust Chernobyl into the centre of wartime anxiety. Russian forces occupied the exclusion zone in the opening days of the 2022 invasion, holding plant staff hostage before withdrawing a month later. The IAEA has since maintained a permanent presence.

Completed in 2019 after nine years of construction, the NSC remains the largest movable land structure ever built — an engineering project funded by more than 45 countries to contain the ruins of Reactor No. 4, where the 1986 explosion scattered radioactive material across Europe and caused mass casualties, long-term cancers and irreversible environmental contamination.

The agency warned that unless the structure is fully restored, further degradation is likely — with no guarantee it will continue to protect the region from renewed radiation release.

Key Takeaways

• IAEA says Chernobyl’s protective arch no longer safely contains radiation after a February drone strike severely damaged its cladding.

• Ukraine blames Russia; urgent full-scale repairs are now required to prevent further structural decline and long-term nuclear risk.

• The strike reopens wartime fears around Chernobyl, nearly 40 years after the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

Source:  CNN