United Nations nuclear watchdog agency on Friday (December 5) said that the containment shelter at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, originally designed to prevent the leakage of radioactive materials from the 1986 nuclear disaster, has lost its primary safety function due to a drone attack. Ukraine has accused Russia of launching the attack.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that during an inspection last week of the steel containment structure completed in 2019, it was found that a drone collision in February this year has caused deterioration to the structure.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the inspection mission “confirmed that the (protective structure) has lost its main safety function, including containment capabilities, but also found that its load-bearing structure or monitoring system has not been permanently damaged.”
Grossi pointed out that although repair work has commenced, “comprehensive restoration is still required to prevent further deterioration and ensure long-term nuclear safety.”
In a statement on February 14th this year, the United Nations revealed that Ukrainian authorities claimed a drone carrying a high-explosive warhead struck the power plant, triggering a fire that damaged the protective layer of the fourth reactor; the same reactor that was damaged during the 1986 nuclear disaster.
Ukrainian authorities have alleged that the drone came from the Russian side, while Moscow has denied launching an attack on the nuclear power plant.
Back in February 2022 during the initial stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces occupied the plant and its surrounding areas for over a month, as they attempted to advance towards the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
At the time of the IAEA’s inspection, a comprehensive investigation was also conducted on the status of Ukraine’s national power stations over the past four years of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 dispersed radioactive dust across Europe, prompting Soviet authorities to mobilize a large amount of manpower and equipment to manage the incident. The last operational reactor at the plant was closed in 2000.
(Reference: This article has been adapted from relevant reports by Reuters)