France says Chernobyl dome damage exceeds $575 million

The protective dome covering the reactor that exploded during the Chornobyl disaster will require repairs costing more than $575 million after being damaged in a Russian drone strike, according to France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

Speaking after chairing a meeting of G7 foreign ministers on Thursday, March 26, Barrot said the first financial assessment of the damage had now been completed. 

“We presented this evening the first financial estimate of the damage caused by this drone, which amounts to more than 575 million dollars,” he said, adding that the G7—currently chaired by France—would play a central role in mobilising the necessary funding. He noted that the effort would be carried out in close cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The damage stems from a Russian drone strike in February 2025 that pierced the outer protective structure at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, triggering international concern about the safety of the site nearly four decades after the original catastrophe.

In 1986, when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union, a reactor at Chornobyl exploded during a failed safety test, releasing radioactive material across much of Europe and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

The current outer structure, known as the New Safe Confinement (NSC), was installed in November 2016. Built with nearly $2.5 billion in international funding, the massive metal dome was designed to prevent further radiation leaks and to enable the eventual dismantling of the reactor remains.

The NSC sits over an earlier inner containment system—the so-called “sarcophagus,” a steel-and-concrete structure hastily constructed in the aftermath of the 1986 explosion. The newer dome serves as a high-tech replacement, forming the outer of two protective layers shielding the damaged reactor.

The 2025 strike left a significant hole in the NSC, compromising its integrity. According to the plant’s director, full restoration of the dome’s primary safety functions could take three to four years.

Barrot said he had personally visited the site in July 2025. “I went to the scene in July 2025 to witness the devastation of this war without limits,” he said.

By Tamilla Hasanova