Damaged Chornobyl sarcophagus could collapse under new attack Plant director warns

The protective structure covering the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was damaged by a drone strike in early 2025, remains in a critically fragile condition, and any new attack could lead to its collapse, according to Deutsche Welle.

The outlet reported that this assessment was given a day earlier by Chornobyl NPP Director Serhii Tarakanov in comments to AFP. He warned that the structure is vulnerable not only to direct strikes but also to nearby impacts that could generate dangerous vibrations.

“If a missile or a drone hits it directly or even falls somewhere nearby — for example, an Iskander, God forbid — it would cause a mini-earthquake in the area,” Tarakanov said. “No one can guarantee that the protective structure will remain standing after that. This is the main threat.”

The remnants of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant are currently shielded by two protective layers. The first is an internal radiation barrier made of steel and concrete, commonly referred to as the “sarcophagus,” which was erected hastily in the aftermath of the 1986 disaster. The second is a technologically advanced external structure, the New Safe Confinement (NSC), which was put into operation in 2019 to further isolate the destroyed reactor and prevent the release of radioactive materials.

In February 2025, a drone struck the new sarcophagus at the Chornobyl NPP. The impact caused a major fire in the outer shell of the massive steel structure designed to contain radiation from the reactor. Ukraine blamed Russia for the incident, while Moscow denied responsibility and dismissed the accusations as a “provocation.”

“Our New Safe Confinement has lost a number of its core functions. And we understand that restoring these functions will take at least three to four years,” Tarakanov said.

The Chornobyl disaster itself occurred on April 26, 1986, at Reactor No. 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Pripyat, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. The accident unfolded during a late-night safety test that failed due to a combination of serious reactor design flaws and major violations of operating procedures. A sudden power surge triggered explosions that destroyed the reactor core and released vast quantities of radioactive material into the atmosphere.

Radioactive fallout spread across large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and other parts of Europe. Thousands of square kilometres were contaminated, prompting the evacuation of Pripyat and its surrounding settlements. A roughly 30-kilometre exclusion zone around the plant remains largely uninhabited to this day.

In the immediate aftermath, dozens of plant workers and emergency responders died from acute radiation sickness. Over the long term, exposure led to increased rates of thyroid cancer, particularly among those who were children at the time of the accident. The disaster had far-reaching political, environmental, and social consequences, intensified global scrutiny of nuclear safety, and played a significant role in shaping reforms in nuclear regulation worldwide.

 By Tamilla Hasanova