On 12 June, facilities within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone were visited by a representative delegation from the European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The visit took place within the framework of the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA), which brings together international partners in supporting projects aimed at ensuring nuclear and radiation safety at the site of the State Specialized Enterprise Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Chornobyl NPP).
The delegation included Katarína Mathernová, Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine; representatives of the EU Delegation to Ukraine; Arvid Tuerkner, EBRD Managing Director for Ukraine and Moldova; Balthasar Lindauer, Director of the EBRD Nuclear Safety Department; other EBRD representatives, international organization officials, and nuclear safety experts. The State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management (SAUEZM) was represented at the working meetings by Deputy Head Oleksii Budyk.
During the visit, the guests were briefed on the current status of activities at Chornobyl NPP, toured several facilities within the Exclusion Zone, and discussed further international support for projects aimed at ensuring the safety of the Shelter Object and advancing the decommissioning of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
The programme began with a visit to the town of Chornobyl, where delegation members learned about the history of the region and the consequences of the world's worst technological disaster through the permanent exhibition Memory of the Native Land of the State Scientific Centre for Cultural Heritage Protection from Technogenic Disasters.
The guests also visited St. Elijah's Church and memorial sites in the town associated with the events of the Chornobyl disaster.
One of the key elements of the programme was a visit to the State Specialized Enterprise Chornobyl NPP. The delegation received a detailed overview of the enterprise's activities and its key areas of work under wartime conditions.
Serhii Tarakanov, Director General of Chornobyl NPP, informed the guests about the progress of reactor decommissioning, radioactive waste management activities, implementation of international projects, and measures taken to ensure nuclear and radiation safety amid ongoing wartime risks.
Particular attention during the visit was devoted to the New Safe Confinement (NSC).
The delegation toured the Chornobyl NPP industrial site.
EU and EBRD representatives inspected the areas damaged by the Russian drone attack on the protective shell of the NSC Arch on 14 February 2025.
Chornobyl NPP specialists presented the results of structural inspections, ongoing measures to mitigate the consequences of the strike, and plans to restore the facility's full functionality. The visitors were able to see first-hand the extent of the damage and assess the challenges currently facing the international community in ensuring the safety of the Shelter Object.
The EU and EBRD representatives were also presented with information on the implementation of Grant Agreements No. 5 and No. 6, which are intended both to support urgent emergency response measures and to prepare for the large-scale repair of the damaged NSC Arch structures and the restoration of their design functions. The projects are being implemented under the Framework Agreement between Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development concerning the activities of the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account.
The total funding provided under the two grant agreements amounts to EUR 35 million.
During the meetings, participants emphasized that Chornobyl NPP remains one of the most important international nuclear safety projects and that support from donors and international partners is critically important for continuing decommissioning activities, maintaining the safe condition of site facilities, and addressing the consequences of Russian aggression.
Following her visit to the Exclusion Zone, Ambassador Katarína Mathernová wrote on her Facebook page:
“This is shocking: in 2022, Russia occupied the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and used it as a military shield. The place that should forever remind us of one of humanity’s greatest mistakes became another instrument of aggression. Yet another proof that nothing is sacred to Russia and that it will stop at nothing.”
The guests also walked through the "Golden Corridor" along Units 1, 2 and 3 and visited the Unit 3 control room, from which reactor operations were managed until December 2000.
The delegation also visited the site of the Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility (CSFSF) operated by NNEGC Energoatom.
CSFSF specialists briefed the delegation on the operation of the facility. Delegates also inspected the consequences of Russian aggression, including one of the facility's buildings that had been damaged by an enemy drone strike.
As part of the visit, the delegation toured Prypiat, a city that has become an enduring symbol of the Chornobyl tragedy and a reminder of the cost of mistakes in the field of nuclear safety.
"The visit once again demonstrated the international community's continued attention to Chornobyl NPP and confirmed our partners' readiness to continue supporting Ukraine in matters of nuclear safety, environmental protection, and maintaining the safe condition of facilities within the Exclusion Zone,"
summarized Oleksii Budyk, Deputy Head of SAUEZM.
Photos: European Union, 2026