IAEA inspects Chornobyl NPP shelter damaged by Russian drone, reports ongoing fire

This is stated in the IAEA report on February 15.

“Ukrainian firefighters have been working around the clock in freezing weather to completely extinguish small fires that still smoulder after Friday’s drone strike on the building containing the remains of the reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chornobyl accident,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

The Agency noted that a Russian drone had pierced a hole in the roof of the New Safe Confinement (NSC), a large arch-shaped shelter that covers the old sarcophagus of the destroyed fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and restrains the spread of radioactive substances outside.

At the site, IAEA experts detected smoke from the NSC roof and the smell of burning plastic. They noted that the fire was being fueled by flammable material in the roof sheathing.

During the inspection, the IAEA team noted that the outer and inner shell of the arch had been damaged by the drone attack. A hole with a diameter of approximately 6 meters was created, and some equipment and electrical cables were also damaged. However, the support beams were not significantly damaged.

It is expected that the repair of the shelter will begin when the fire is completely extinguished. Meanwhile, IAEA representatives confirmed the Ukrainian authorities' report that the radiation level at the site has not changed.

In turn, Ukraine has informed the IAEA that it will install additional sensors to measure dose rate and aerosol concentration near the attack site.

• A Russian UAV with an explosive warhead hit the shelter of Chornobyl NPP Unit 4 on the night of February 14. As a result, it was significantly damaged. The next day, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to discuss the incident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, and the Ministry of Energy called on the IAEA to step up efforts to prevent attacks on nuclear facilities.