France contributed EUR 10 million to EBRD Chornobyl Fund to restore shelter over sarcophagus of Chornobyl NPP
France has contributed EUR 10 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Chornobyl Fund to restore the shelter over the sarcophagus at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This is indicated in a statement by the Ministry of Finance, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
In particular, it is reported that during a meeting of the Assembly of Donors of the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA), representatives of the French government announced a contribution to the EBRD Chornobyl Fund account in the amount of EUR 10 million.
The Ministry notes that these funds will allow further financing of work on repairing the protective shelter over the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl NPP, which was damaged by a russian drone attack.
The contribution agreement was signed by Pierre Elbron, Special Envoy of the President of France for Economic Assistance and Reconstruction to Ukraine, and Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice-President for Policy and Partnerships, during the 34th EBRD Annual Meeting and Business Forum in London.
The Ministry notes that the EBRD is currently working with the Chornobyl NPP, Ukrainian experts and the French company Bouygues, involved in the initial construction of the new protective shelter, to assess the full extent of the damage to the shelter and develop options for long-term restoration. To support these activities, it is planned to allocate EUR 5 million from the Fund’s existing resources.
Given the scale of damage to the new shelter over the fourth power unit, in particular the cladding, the cost of restoration is expected to be significant and significantly exceed the currently available resources.
The total cost of fully restoring the New Safe Confinement could exceed EUR 100 million. Today, the Fund has more than EUR 19 million in its account.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that the protective structure of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered significant damage from the attack on February 14.
On the night of February 14, a russian strike drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the shelter covering the destroyed power unit No. 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. As a result of the russian drone’s strike on the New Safe Confinement (NSC) above the destroyed power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the integrity of the outer shell of the NSC and equipment in the crane maintenance garage were damaged.
On February 18, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated UAH 1.5 billion to maintain the shelter at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in a safe state, with funding increased by UAH 139 million compared to 2024.