The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission, which visited the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant last week, documented the consequences of the russian drone attack on the Arch of the New Safe Confinement (NSC).
The attack, that took place on 14 February 2025, caused damage to the integrity of the NSC's outer cladding and a prolonged fire, which significantly damaged the Arch's inner sealing membrane.
This mission is being conducted at the request of Ukraine and was prompted by the attack carried out by a Russian strike UAV equipped with a high-explosive charge. The attack damaged the outer and inner claddings of the New Safe Confinement arch, as well as a number of internal structures, components, and systems important for the safety and functions of the NSC, which were designed to support the transformation of the Shelter Object into an environmentally safe system.
The objective of the mission is to perform an independent assessment of the current safety condition of the facility.
On 20 November, a delegation from the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM), headed by Director General Mr. Michael Knochenhauer, visited the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
During the visit, Swedish radiation safety experts received detailed information about the current status of the Chornobyl NPP and the key tasks being carried out by the plant’s personnel.
18 November 2025 marks the fifth anniversary of the loading of the first batch of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) into the Spent Fuel Dry Storage Facility (ISF-2) at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. On this day in 2020, the first canister was placed into storage during hot trials, and full-scale industrial operation of the facility began in July 2021 after the operating license was obtained.
Over the past five years, a quarter of all spent nuclear fuel from Chornobyl NPP has already been transferred from the old “wet” storage (ISF-1) to ISF-2. This has significantly reduced risks and clearly demonstrates substantial progress in the decommissioning process.
At the end of October, Chornobyl NPP specialists participated in an international workshop on Safe Enclosure of Graphite Power Reactors held in Lyon, France. The event was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) together with the Electricité de France (EDF), namely with its Deconstruction and Waste Projects Department (DP2D).
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the French companies Bouygues and Vinci, part of the original Novarka consortium, are working on engineering solutions to restore the functionality of the New Safe Confinement (NSC). The progress was discussed during the meeting between Chornobyl NPP Director General Serhii Tarakanov and the project managers from the EBRD, Bouygues and Vinci in Paris.
The State Specialised Enterprise Chornobyl NPP and the French company Framatome will strengthen their cooperation in the fields of nuclear safety, decommissioning, radioactive waste management, and long-term site management. One of the areas of joint work will focus on attracting international funding for the implementation of projects at the Chornobyl NPP.
This was discussed during a meeting between Chornobyl NPP Director General Serhii Tarakanov and Framatome Vice Presidents Ludovic Devos and Marion Horstmann, held on 4 November as part of the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris.
The delegation from the European Investment Bank (EIB) visited the the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on October, 31. Bank representatives familiarized themselves with the work of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and other enterprises on the territory of the Exclusion zone under martial law and paid the special attention to those areas of activity in respect of which the EIB may initiate the future cooperation.
The administration of SSE «Chornobyl NPP» informed the delegation about the key challenges, the main of them remains the constant threat of attacks by the russian federation. It was emphasized that despite the difficult conditions, the staff continues to implement the current programs of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in particular, the management of radioactive waste, decommissioning of power units and the development of the infrastructure of the Exclusion zone.
| December 15, 2000 – final shutdown of Power Unit No.3 |
| December 22 - Power Engineers' Day |