A Russian drone strike on Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear reactor has damaged its main shield, according to a UN watchdog.
The massive structure, which was built over the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, has lost its ‘primary safety functions, including the confinement capability’, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors found.
Luckily, a report found the €1.5bn shield’s main structures and monitoring systems didn’t sustain irreversible damage in the February 14 strike.
Radiation levels have not increased outside the site of the world’s worst-ever nuclear disaster but the shield does need major repairs.
The night attack saw a Russian strike drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the shelter over the destroyed Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Ukraine accused Russia of targeting the power plant, but the Kremlin denied the allegations.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said: ‘Limited temporary repairs have been carried out on the roof, but timely and comprehensive restoration remains essential to prevent further degradation and ensure long-term nuclear safety.
‘The IAEA – which has a team permanently at the site – will continue to do everything it can to support efforts to fully restore nuclear safety and security at the Chornobyl site,’ Grossi assured.
Environmental expert Jim Smith told the BBC that it is ‘not something to panic about.’
What was the Chernobyl disaster?
The nuclear accident in Chernobyl happened on April 26, 1986, at around 1.23am when one of the reactors exploded.
It occurred during a safety test that was simulating a power outage and triggered a public health emergency across Europe as radioactive material blasted into the air.
The updrafts (currents of rising hot air) were contained on May 4, and the fire inside the reactor was not extinguished until May 10.
It took several months to remove the tons of debris that had been created by the explosion.
The total death toll of the disaster is difficult to determine, as people are still suffering from the effects of the radiation today.
Two workers died immediately after the blast as they were right near the reactor when it exploded.
During the next few days and months, another 29 are recorded as dying, with a lot of them caused by Acute Radiation Syndrome.
It is believed that around several thousand people could have their deaths attributed to the disaster.
In 1986, the United Nations estimated the death toll to be around 4,000 people.
The protective shield covers the concrete ‘sarcophagus’, which was built by the former Soviet Union.
The sarcophagus only had a 30-year lifespan, which prompted the need for the protective shell to prevent radioactive material from leaking out over the next 100 years.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog has been assessing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the beginning of the month, as the country continues to defend itself against Russia.
The IAEA has also been inspecting electrical substations linked to nuclear safety and security.
These substations are also needed to distribute the electricity that they produce to households and other industries.
It came as Russian troops attacked the Chernihiv region 56 times in the past 24 hours damaging electricity and thermal energy infrastructure killing one man and wounding a policewoman.
‘Over the past day, the Chernihiv region was under a massive enemy attack’, Viacheslav Chaus, the Head of the Chernihiv Regional Military Administration said.
‘There were many strikes on critical and civilian infrastructure. Novhorod-Siverskyi was attacked by enemy Geran drones. There is destruction.
‘The district police department, medical college, and residential buildings were damaged. A 50-year-old civilian man was killed in his own home as a result of the attack.
‘A policewoman was injured. Firefighters worked at the sites of the strikes, extinguishing fires,’ Chaus said.
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