On April 17, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading the Law "On Amendments to the National Program on Decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and Transformation of the Shelter Object into an Environmentally Safe System" (No. 6624 dated June 22, 2017), submitted for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine .

The Conclusions of the Chief Scientific and Expert Department on the draft Law point to the following: "The draft recommends amending the National Program on Decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and Transformation of the Shelter Object into an Environmentally Safe System, approved by the relevant Law of Ukraine of January 15, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as Program). In particular, the deadline is updated for the implementation of priority activities at the stage of decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and transformation of the Shelter Object into an environmentally safe system ("until 2020" instead of "until 2012"); the objective of the program is recognized to ensure the implementation of the state policy on "management of spent nuclear fuel of RBMK-1000 reactors of the Chernobyl NPP", which requires the construction and safe operation of a "dry type storage facility for storage of spent nuclear fuel of RBMK-1000 reactors of the Chernobyl NPP (ISF- 2). "

In addition, the Addendum to the Program is published in a new edition as "Measures for Decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and Transformation of the Shelter Object into an Environmental Safe System for the period until 2020".

As noted by the holder of the right of legislative initiative, the objective of adopting the draft law is to approve a single document, which specifies the activities related to decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and transformation of the Shelter Object into an environmentally safe system and budget financing of these activities until 2020.

According to the Explanatory Note, the deadline for implementation of the above-mentioned measures of the National Program on Decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and Transformation of the Shelter Object into an Environmentally Safe System, scheduled for 2009-2012, has expired. Due to insufficient funding, a significant number of scheduled activities have not been fully implemented. The draft of amendments to the National Program have been developed with due regard for the deadlines that have expired, the current status of the activities and plans related to decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and transformation of the Shelter Object into an environmentally safe system (until 2065) and budget financing of these activities until 2020.

According to the financial feasibility study provided in the Explanatory Note, the implementation of the updated National Program will imply the allocation of UAH 4,036.36 million from the State Budget of Ukraine during 2017-2020 for implementation of the activities of the final shutdown and preservation stage, including the funds to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and the Nuclear Safety Account the total amount will be UAH 6,637.33 million.

The adoption of this draft law will ensure the implementation of the provisions of Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine "On General Principles of Chernobyl NPP Further Operation and Decommissioning, and Transformation of Destroyed Unit 4 into an Environmentally Safe System" and will become a legally defined basis for further development and implementation of a set of activities for decommissioning of Chernobyl NPP Units and transformation of the Shelter Object into an environmentally safe system.