International donors have endorsed a €30 million plan to begin engineering and procurement work for potential repairs to Chornobyl’s New Safe Confinement (NSC), the giant steel arch built to contain the remains of Reactor Four, as reported in an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) statement. A Russian drone strike in February 2025 damaged the structure, which was originally built after the 1986 accident to enable safe dismantling of the hastily constructed sarcophagus. Preliminary assessments warn that steel corrosion threatens long-term safety, with full repairs potentially costing at least €500 million and needed by 2030.
The endorsed approach breaks work into three phases to avoid premature commitments and reduce risks of redesign and delay. Phase one consolidates technical data and develops initial repair concepts; phase two turns those into engineering solutions and an overall strategy in consultation with Ukraine’s nuclear regulator; and phase three prepares detailed procurement and engineering plans, with early purchasing of long-lead items where justified.
The International Chornobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA), managed by the EBRD, currently holds around €70 million in donor funds. Donors backing the plan include the European Union, France, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Italy, and Taiwan. Since 1995, the international community has contributed around €2 billion to EBRD-managed Chornobyl programmes, and the ICCA’s mandate has expanded since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 to cover nuclear safety across all of Ukraine.
