On 14 February 2025, Russia carried out a direct and deliberate attack using a “Geran-2” (Shahed-type) kamikaze drone against the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This was not only an attack on Ukrainian infrastructure — it was an attack on the global nuclear safety system. One year on, and Russia continues to target Chornobyl with attacks on its vital electricity supply.
The New Safe Confinement, constructed by the international community and commissioned in 2019, was designed to operate for at least 100 years. Its primary purpose is to isolate the destroyed Unit 4 reactor and the original Shelter object or Sarcophogus, preventing the release of radioactive materials and enabling the dismantling of the shelter object and the destroyed reactor.
As a result of the strike, the outer shell of the NSC was severely damaged. While the initial fire was extinguished relatively quickly, protective membrane continued to burn for nearly three weeks. More than 320 technological openings had to be made in the external structure to extinguish the burning material inside the roof space Temporary emergency repairs have valiantly been made by Ukraine workers, however, the functionality of the NSC no longer exists as planned as a result of the Russian deliberate attack..
Today it is evident that the arch no longer fully performs the functions for which it was designed and that is another Russian war crime in Ukraine.
The strike on the Chornobyl NSC represents an unprecedented attack on a facility designed to contain the consequences of the worst nuclear disaster in history which began 40 years ago this April. Such actions bear the hallmarks of nuclear terrorism. This was another deliberate attempt at nuclear blackmail by Russia. The Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, operates the entire Russian nuclear complex, and is central to the Kremlin’s policies and military decisions. As such, Rosatom is a major part of the state machinery waging an aggressive war and undermining global security, both in the violent attack and occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the attack and occupation of Chornobyl in 2022 and the current targeting of electricity substations critical for nuclear safety.
Despite this, Rosatom remains free from comprehensive international sanctions. The company continues to operate in European markets, access technologies, participate in the construction of new nuclear power units — including the Paks II project — and remain integrated into the global nuclear industry.
This creates a dangerous precedent of impunity.
The Chornobyl New Safe Confinement is not merely a Ukrainian facility. It is a pillar of the international nuclear safety architecture. Its damage constitutes a global risk, not a local problem.
One year after the attack, the world must deliver a clear response.
We call for:
- The introduction of full sectoral sanctions against Rosatom and its subsidiaries.
- The termination of all nuclear cooperation with the Russian Federation, including new contracts and technological partnerships.
- The recognition of the attack on the New Safe Confinement as an act of nuclear terrorism at the international level.
- The establishment of a reparations mechanism to ensure that the Russian Federation finances the full restoration of the NSC.
Impunity in matters of nuclear safety is a threat to the entire world. If the attack on Chornobyl carries no political and economic consequences for Russia’s nuclear industry, it will signal that nuclear infrastructure may continue to be used as a tool of war and coercion.
Chornobyl is a tragedy that taught the world the cost of failure. We must punish Russia for deliberately using nuclear energy as an instrument of terror.
