Greenpeace Ukraine condemns Russian explosive drone strike on Chornobyl shelter and demands the Russian government must be prosecuted for its war crimes
Source: Greenpeace Ukraine website
Kyiv, 14 February 2025… According to Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator SNRIU, at 01.54 local time on 14 February a Russian drone hit the New Safe Confinement of the "Shelter" facility above power unit No. 4 of the Chernobyl NPP. As a result of the hit and resultant fire, the integrity of the outer shell of the New Safe Confinement and equipment in the crane maintenance garage were damaged. Greenpeace Ukraine sees the attack as a further escalation of the threat to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
“We condemn Russia’s action and its war machine for this strike, and we call on the international community to take action - by ending Russia’s threat to Ukraine’s nuclear plants, and prosecuting the Russian government for international war crimes,” said Shaun Burnie from Greenpeace Ukraine.
The impact occurred above the facility housing technological equipment that enables the remote operation of the Confinement. As a result of the hit, both the external and internal cladding of the NSC Arch were damaged, along with equipment from the Main Cranes System. Additionally, local fire was detected on the external and internal cladding of the NSC Arch.(2) Firefighting units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) and personnel of the Chornobyl NPP promptly arrived at the scene. The open fire, covering an area of approximately 40 square metres, was extinguished.According to SNRIU, there is no change in radiation levels currently.(1) Radiation background levels can be monitored online here.
“The Chornobyl shelter is designed and required to contain the vast radioactive contents of the unit 4 reactor. It’s not just a roof but a massive, sophisticated machine designed specifically to prevent the release of radioactivity into the environment. And now Russia has hit it with an explosive, penetrated the steel roof and caused a fire. How long will Russia’s targeting of Ukraine’s nuclear plants - including its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia plant and its war crimes - be allowed to go unpunished?” said Shaun Burnie, nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Ukraine.
On the first day of the Russian full scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Chornobyl nuclear plant was attacked and occupied by Russian armed forces and personnel from Rosatom, the state nuclear corporation.
The shelter was built with funding from 45 governments, including the EU, to contain the remains of the Chornobyl reactor 4 which was destroyed in the worst nuclear disaster in history on 26 April 1986. The shelter is designed to prevent radioactive material, including particles and gases from escaping into the environment. In the 1990’s Ukraine and the international community concluded an agreement that the original Soviet built shelter or sarcophagus that was built over the destroyed reactor in the immediate aftermath of the disaster was at major risk of collapse. The new confinement shelter weighs 36,000 tons, is 108 metres high and 162 metres long, and has a span of 257 metres and a lifetime of a minimum of 100 years.
“With this outrageous attack, Russia is escalating its war against Ukraine to a new level. It proves that there are no limits to Putin’s aggression and the Russian government is willing to put the Ukrainian and European population at risk. This could be the final wake-up call to the international community to urgently send more support to Ukraine to protect its critical infrastructure, including its highly vulnerable operating nuclear power plants,” said Jan Vande Putte, nuclear expert at Greenpeace Ukraine.
Greenpeace has conducted several missions to the Chornobyl site since the Russian full scale invasion, including a survey of the Russian trenches in July 2022 on the invitation of the Ukraine government to document Russian crimes against the environment during their occupation of the ChEZ till March 2022,(2) and a mission to the Chornobyl shelter in September and November 2024.
Russia has systematically launched disinformation campaigns to falsely blame Ukraine for attacks it has carried out itself. Greenpeace documented such false flag operations, such as blaming Ukraine for drone attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant or the explosion of the Nova Kakhovka dam in 2023. The international community should swiftly reject such attempts and make Russia accountable for its war crimes.
Video and images from Greenpeace missions to Chornobyl available here:
Mission 2022
Mission 2023
2 - Greenpeace investigation into Russian occupation of Chornobyl - July 2022 - see https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/89f769079c4a40c98a4b158e9e87d17c