EU and UK Commit €31.7 Million to Emergency Repairs on Chernobyl’s New Safe Confinement

EU and UK Commit €31.7 Million to Emergency Repairs on Chernobyl’s New Safe Confinement

(IN BRIEF) At the ICCA Assembly in London, the EU and UK announced pledges of €25 million and €6.7 million respectively to the EBRD-managed International Chernobyl Cooperation Account. These funds will underwrite emergency repairs to the New Safe Confinement at Chornobyl, which suffered critical system failures after a Russian drone strike in February 2025. The NSC’s compromised ability to contain radiation and support decommissioning threatens its 100-year design life, with repair costs potentially exceeding €100 million. Balthasar Lindauer of the EBRD highlighted the pledges as a testament to international resolve in addressing radiological risks. Established in 2020 and expanded since Russia’s invasion, the ICCA coordinates safety and security projects in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, backed by over €2 billion in donor funding and more than €800 million from the EBRD’s own resources.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 27-Jun-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — At today’s ICCA Assembly in London, the European Union and the United Kingdom pledged a combined €31.7 million to the EBRD-managed International Chernobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA). The EU committed up to €25 million and the UK up to €6.7 million to finance urgent repairs to the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, following damage from a February 2025 Russian drone strike.

That attack critically impaired the NSC’s core functions—containing radioactive materials and facilitating long-term decommissioning—by disabling essential systems designed to secure the structure for its intended 100-year lifespan. Without immediate intervention, further degradation poses a significant radiological hazard. Completed in 2019, the NSC is one of the globe’s most sensitive nuclear facilities. While remediation costs are still being assessed, initial estimates indicate the total could surpass €100 million.

Balthasar Lindauer, Director of the EBRD’s Nuclear Safety Department, said, “These contributions underscore the steadfast solidarity of the international community in safeguarding Chornobyl and mitigating the radiological risks posed by the damaged confinement structure. We thank the EU and the UK for their vital support.”

Launched at Ukraine’s request in November 2020, the ICCA is a multilateral fund administered by the EBRD to develop and implement comprehensive safety and security measures in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Since Russia’s invasion, its remit has expanded to cover emergency restorations within the zone and broader nuclear-safety initiatives across Ukraine. To date, donor contributions total approximately €25 million, while the EBRD has allocated over €800 million of its net income and leveraged nearly €2 billion in international funding to Chornobyl programs since 1995.

Media contact:
Email: media@ebrd.com

SOURCE: EBRD