Units of the National Guard with combat experience are on duty around the clock to protect Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles is constantly being expanded, National Guard Commander Major General Oleksandr Pivnenko said.
"Our units are there 24/7. And these are no longer the same units that were there at the start of the war – now there are people with combat experience," Pivnenko said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, speaking about the defense of the Chornobyl NPP.
The National Guard commander said: "There is a unit from the Azov Corps, combat commanders, and a drone component that is constantly being expanded."
Pivnenko added that he personally visits the Chornobyl NPP on a regular basis. "I don't want us to lose sight of anything there. So we're building up our forces and building them up," he said.
Speaking generally about the protection of critical infrastructure and, in particular, the "lessons learned," the National Guard commander noted: "Many serious defensive structures are being built, believe me. For our part, where necessary, we're deploying interceptors and anti-aircraft missile systems, and we're ramping up electronic intelligence."
"This is a large-scale task at the national level," he added.
In April 2026, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko told Reuters in an interview that the attack by a Russian drone on the containment structure of the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl NPP in 2025 was likely intentional, as evidenced by expert analyses of the circumstances surrounding the enemy drone's strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that approximately EUR 500 million is needed for a major overhaul of the Chornobyl sarcophagus, which was damaged as a result of the Russian UAV attack.
In late April of this year, the United States announced the allocation of $100 million for the repair of the Chornobyl containment structure. In addition, during the International Chornobyl Conference on Recovery and Nuclear Safety, an agreement was signed with the EBRD for EUR 30 million for the first phase of the containment restoration. Partners have made initial commitments totalling nearly EUR 100 million.
In June 2026, Norway announced an additional contribution of NOK 100 million (about $10 million) for the restoration of the New Safe Confinement at the Chornobyl NPP, which was damaged as a result of a Russian drone attack.
