Kyiv, Ukraine. A Ukrainian official at the Chernobyl nuclear plant said repairs remain needed after a Russian strike drone hit the facility’s protective structure last year, narrowly avoiding another major incident. The comments come as Ukraine prepares to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1986 disaster.
Damage to protective structures
Denys Khomenko, deputy director for technical operations, recalled the incident during a recent visit to the plant in the wooded exclusion zone about 100 km north of Kyiv. He said maintaining composure was critical to keeping the stricken plant powered and protected as it is slowly decommissioned.
Workers patched the hole with a large panel on the 256 metre-wide steel structure that covers the damaged reactor four, but Khomenko said additional repairs are needed in areas still too dangerous for prolonged work.
Radiation constraints and staffing
Khomenko said large parts of the exclusion zone now have close to normal radiation levels, but areas near the destroyed reactor remain highly contaminated. He said a welder or other highly qualified personnel may only be able to work in some locations for minutes or a few hours, requiring many such workers who are not readily available.
War-related risks and delayed dismantling
Khomenko said the situation highlights risks at the facility more than four years into a war that has involved regular Russian air strikes on infrastructure across Ukraine. He said the plant employs about 2,250 people and noted it was briefly occupied by Russian forces in the first weeks of the 2022 invasion, postponing plans to dismantle the reactor.
Khomenko said the February 14, 2025 drone strike sparked a weeks-long fire and damaged the membrane sealing the original steel-and-concrete structure built over the reactor in 1986.
What do you think should be the priority for repairs at the Chernobyl site as work continues under wartime conditions?
