Ukraine Marks Chornobyl 40th as War Revives Nuclear Fears
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- Zelenskyy warned on Sunday that the risks of a nuclear disaster "are no less great" because of Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhia plant and ongoing strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as the country marked 40 years since the 1986 Chornobyl meltdown.
- A Russian drone strike in February 2025 punctured the massive protective arc installed over Chornobyl's reactor four in 2016, with full repairs estimated at 500 million euros by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
- Kyiv's state prosecutor said Ukrainian radars detected at least 92 Russian drones within a five-kilometre radius of the Chornobyl shield since June 2024.
- The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility and under Russian occupation since March 2022, suffered its 15th temporary blackout on Sunday, per Ukraine's state atomic agency.
- Nuclear power now accounts for around 70% of Ukraine's total power generation, according to state-owned Energoatom, making the sector a central sticking point in U.S.-brokered peace negotiations that have yielded few results.
- IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said repairs to the Chornobyl shield should begin as soon as possible, while the EU energy commissioner and other foreign officials arrived in Kyiv to pledge fresh support for Ukraine's power grid.
Why it matters: The 40th commemoration was meant to be a historical moment but became a live nuclear-safety crisis, with a drone-punctured Chornobyl shield needing 500 million euros in repairs and the Zaporizhzhia plant — which supplies a large share of the 70% nuclear share of Ukraine's grid — losing power for the 15th time since occupation. With both sites inside an active war zone, the radiological stakes of continued fighting have moved from theoretical to documented.
