In early December 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the New Safe Confinement (NSC) — the giant protective shelter over the reactor — has lost its primary safety functions, including its confinement capability, after sustaining damage from a drone strike earlier this year. While the IAEA says there has been no permanent damage to the structure’s load-bearing components or monitoring systems, it warned that only comprehensive restoration can prevent further degradation and protect long-term nuclear safety. [6]Grossi added that while some repairs had been carried out, “comprehensive restoration remains essential” to prevent further deterioration and to ensure long-term nuclear safety. [8]Why the New Safe Confinement matters: the world’s biggest “nuclear safety” construction projectThe NSC is not a symbolic cover — it’s a complex nuclear safety system engineered to buy time for decades of controlled dismantling and waste management. [22]The broader nuclear safety reality of a war zoneChernobyl is a uniquely sensitive symbol — but it’s also one part of a wider nuclear safety challenge in wartime Ukraine.

Source: The Hindu December 27, 2025 08:10 UTC