A decade after the world's worst nuclear disaster, the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine faces a new and urgent threat. A Russian drone strike has critically damaged its protective radiation shield, sparking fears of another potential catastrophe and triggering a massive, years-long repair operation.
A Breach in the Billion-Dollar Dome
In February 2025, a Russian drone hit the New Safe Confinement (NSC), the massive outer shell covering the radioactive ruins of the reactor that exploded in 1986. The attack left a large, gaping hole in the structure. Plant director Sergiy Tarakanov confirmed to AFP that the dome no longer performs its primary function of containing radioactive substances.
AFP journalists who visited the site saw the extensive damage firsthand. Charred debris from the strike still littered the floor months later. While the main crater has been covered with a temporary screen, workers must still patch over 300 smaller holes made by firefighters during the ensuing blaze. The inside of the multi-billion-dollar structure is now engulfed in scaffolding that reaches up to its 100-meter-high ceiling.
Tarakanov stated that full repairs to restore the dome's safety functions could take another three to four years. The strike also cast doubt on whether the NSC, designed to last a century, can still meet its intended lifespan.
The Lingering Threat Inside the Sarcophagus
Beneath the damaged outer dome lies the original Sarcophagus—a steel and concrete structure hastily built after the 1986 meltdown. Inside, the danger remains potent. Engineer Ivan Tykhonenko, who monitors 19 sensors at the site, explained that part of the 190 tonnes of uranium from the original reactor melted and sank into the sub-reactor rooms, where it still exists today.
The plant's vulnerability was further exposed in October 2025, when a Russian strike on a nearby substation cut power to the confinement structure. While radiation levels have so far remained stable, the fear is that another direct hit could be devastating.
The 'Main Threat' of a New Disaster
Director Tarakanov outlined the grave risk. Another missile or drone strike, even one that lands nearby, could cause a "mini-earthquake" in the area. "No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that. That is the main threat," he told AFP.
Russian forces captured Chernobyl on the first day of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, withdrawing weeks later. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Moscow of recklessly targeting nuclear facilities, a strategy that Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential advisor, called "absolutely senseless" and "one of the most serious threats to Europe today."
As Ukraine scrambles to secure its energy grid and nuclear plants from ongoing attacks, the race to repair Chernobyl's shattered shield is a stark reminder that the legacy of the 1986 disaster is far from sealed, and the specter of a new nuclear crisis looms large.
