Ukraine, EBRD sign $35M deal for 1st phase of Chernobyl New Safe Confinement restoration

Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Sunday signed a €30 million (about $35 million) agreement for the first stage of restoring the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement, designed to prevent the release of radioactive contaminants.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said partners also announced initial pledges totaling nearly €100 million (about $117 million) during the Chernobyl International Conference on Recovery and Nuclear Safety.

“These funds will be directed toward restoring the safe confinement at the Chornobyl NPP and strengthening nuclear safety in Ukraine,” he wrote on US social media company X.

Shmyhal said the cost of restoring and strengthening the confinement’s safety after a Russian drone strike in February 2025 is about €500 million ($585 million), according to preliminary estimates.

Following the conference, a joint statement was adopted, with 24 countries supporting Ukraine’s efforts to mobilize resources for the restoration, he added.

Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he held a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi on the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

“I emphasized the unacceptability of formalizing and legitimizing Russia’s presence at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,” he wrote on US social media X.

The two discussed temporary shutdowns of nuclear power plant units, reductions in their output, and the potential consequences of these “criminal actions,” Zelenskyy said.

He underlined that the plant must be returned to the management of Ukraine’s licensed operator and nuclear regulator.

Ukraine claimed on Feb. 14, 2025, that a Russian drone hit the structure of the NSC overnight, causing a weeks-long fire and damaging its outer shell but not causing any release of radioactive substances. Russia denied Ukraine’s allegations.