Ukraine to receive €42.5 million to restore Chornobyl NPP arch damaged by Russians

International partners France, the United Kingdom and the European Commission have announced the allocation of 42.5 million euros for the restoration of the New Safe Confinement (NSC arch) at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. This was reported to by Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Svitlana Hrynchuk on Facebook.

The additional donor contributions were announced on June 25 during a meeting of the Assembly of Depositors of the International Cooperation Account for Chernobyl, held at the headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London.

Contributions were announced by:

• France – €10.6 million;
• UK – €6.9 million;
• European Commission – €25 million.

In addition, under Grant Agreement No. 5, another €5 million will be allocated to analyze the damage to the arch, as well as to develop and implement measures to temporarily repair the structure.

The meeting discussed plans to repair and fully restore the facility's functionality. According to Hrynchuk, the international partners recognize Ukraine's progress in conducting surveys and preparatory work, but emphasize that the amount of resources required for full restoration may exceed the current capabilities of the Account.

In March 2014, has already allocated €400,000 from the Account's administrative budget to research the damage to the NSC.

• On the night of February 14, a Russian drone with an explosive warhead hit the shelter, which protects the destroyed fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
• The UAV was flying at an altitude of 85 meters, so air defense radars did not see it. Zelensky said this indicates a targeted strike by Russian occupation forces.
• On February 17, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated 1.5 billion UAH to maintain the safe condition of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant shelter.