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Ukraine, EBRD Ink Deal to Restore Chernobyl's Radioactive Shield
(MENAFN) Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed a landmark €30 million (approximately $35 million) agreement Sunday to launch the first phase of restoring the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement — a critical structure engineered to contain the site's deadly radioactive contaminants.
The signing coincided with the Chernobyl International Conference on Recovery and Nuclear Safety, where partner nations announced opening pledges approaching €100 million (roughly $117 million) toward the broader restoration effort, according to Ukraine's Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal.
"These funds will be directed toward restoring the safe confinement at the Chornobyl NPP and strengthening nuclear safety in Ukraine," he wrote on US social media company X.
Shmyhal warned that preliminary cost estimates for fully restoring and reinforcing the confinement structure — heavily damaged by a Russian drone strike in February 2025 — stand at approximately €500 million ($585 million). Following the conference, a joint declaration was adopted with 24 nations formally backing Ukraine's resource mobilization push, he added.
In a separate development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi on the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, using the occasion to deliver a pointed message over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear standoff.
"I emphasized the unacceptability of formalizing and legitimizing Russia's presence at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," he wrote on US social media X.
Zelenskyy said the two leaders discussed deliberate unit shutdowns, output reductions, and the potentially catastrophic consequences of what he characterized as "criminal actions" at the plant. He stressed unequivocally that Zaporizhzhia must be returned to the oversight of Ukraine's licensed operator and nuclear regulator.
The diplomatic pressure follows Ukraine's assertion on Feb. 14, 2025, that a Russian drone struck the New Safe Confinement overnight, igniting a weeks-long fire that damaged its outer shell — though authorities confirmed no radioactive release occurred. Moscow has denied the allegation entirely.
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