Donors allocate EUR 30 mln for initial restoration work on New Safe Confinement at Chornobyl NPP

The Assembly of Donors of the International Cooperation Account has allocated EUR 30 million for initial work on restoring the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy reported on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, the decision was made during an Assembly meeting in London.

"The Assembly of Donors of the International Cooperation Account will reallocate EUR 30 million from the administrative budget to prepare the necessary engineering solutions and to procure in advance the equipment required to restore the functionality of the NSC," the Energy Ministry explained.

Participants in the London meeting reviewed, in particular, the final report on the consequences of damage to the Arch and the engineering assessment of possible restoration options, as well as considered a roadmap for recovery work. The roadmap includes further engineering studies, monitoring of corrosion processes in the structure, development of repair designs, and procurement of equipment.

"Preliminary estimates indicate that EUR 412 million will be required for the full repair of the Arch," the ministry said.

The work must be completed by 2030, taking into account existing risks of corrosion damage to metal structures, which could further complicate the restoration of the NSC’s functionality.

The meeting also reviewed a report by the Chornobyl NPP on emergency measures taken to prevent depressurization and further deterioration of the Arch, as well as the results of an IAEA support mission for NSC restoration. Discussions also covered the status of implementation of each of the five grant agreements signed between the EBRD and the Chornobyl NPP and the next steps in their execution, the ministry added.

As previously reported, on February 14, 2025, Russia carried out a direct strike by an attack unmanned aerial vehicle on the NSC Arch. As a result of the attack, the integrity of the protective cover was compromised, the anti-corrosion protection function of metal structures was lost, and critical systems and equipment were damaged.

The attack caused long-term multi-million-euro losses to the Chornobyl NPP, significantly complicated the plant’s decommissioning program, and created risks of new nuclear threats for the entire European continent.

The loss of NSC functionality was directly confirmed by a dedicated IAEA mission in November 2025.