Chernobyl plant drone strike: Ukraine team conducts repairs, no radiation leak found
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has revealed that Ukrainian engineers and workers are carrying out temporary repairs of the Chernobyl Reactor 4 containment site’s New Safe Confinement (NSC). This structure was completed in 2016 to enclose the older sarcophagus from 1986, which contained the damaged reactor. However, the NSC was severely damaged by a drone attack on February 14, 2025, in the wake of the ongoing war with Russia.
Located 65 miles north of Kiev, Ukraine, Chernobyl (or officially the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Station) was a model of Soviet engineering. The RBMK-1000 units at Chernobyl had a combined electrical output of about 4,000 MW.
At the time of the disaster in the mid 1980s, Chernobyl had four working reactors, with two new ones under construction. However, flaws in the design eventually led to the reactor overheating and exploding during a safety test. This resulted in the release of at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core into the environment and the deposition of radioactive material across a broad swathe of Europe.
Attack caused no radioactive leak
The attack from earlier this year left a large gaping hole in the roof of the NSC, which was built to prevent any radioactive release. Following the attack, fires broke out, and the smouldering took weeks to extinguish fully.
Fortunately, no recorded radioactive material was found to have leaked from the reactor, and the NSC is still doing its job of containing radioactive threats, as per IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. In a media release, the agency stated that its dedicated oversight team has visited the site recently to assess ongoing work.
“Immediately after the drone strike, Ukrainian emergency personnel rushed to contain and eventually put out the fires. The site is now focusing on assessing the full extent of the damage while also carrying out short-term repairs,” said Director General Grossi.
“It is clear that the confinement structure—constructed at huge expense and with major international support—suffered extensive damage,” he added. According to the IAEA, another of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), located in a high-risk war zone, is also vulnerable to damage.
Other nuclear sites at risk
The agency’s statement pointed out that the ZNPP team reported hearing explosions in the distance every day over the past week, highlighting the ongoing danger to nuclear safety. During the recent Chernobyl inspection, the team checked emergency systems, reactor safety systems, and fuel storage, ensuring that basic functions were maintained despite the conflict.
“The IAEA team has conducted walkdowns across the site to observe site activities, visiting all Emergency Control Rooms of the six reactors, the safety systems of unit 4, and the two fresh fuel storage facilities,” the IAEA said.
Other Ukrainian nuclear sites, namely Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, and South Ukraine, still function. However, three of the total nine reactors on these sites have been shutdown for regular maintenance and refuelling outages.
Like ZNPP, there are constant dangers with drones being spotted and anti-drone warfare being reported near the South Ukraine plant. “The team was informed by the site that six drones were detected at a distance of 1.5 km (0.93 miles) from the plant in the night of 25 April, coinciding with the sound of military activity that appeared to be coming from an attempt to shoot them down,” the agency noted.
At Khmelnytskyy NPP, staff had to shelter during an air raid on April 30.