The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that the protective barrier surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site in Ukraine is no longer effectively containing radioactive waste. This deterioration follows a drone strike earlier this year.

The IAEA indicated that the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure at Chernobyl was “severely damaged” during the February attack, compromising its essential safety functions, including its ability to contain the hazardous material.

Ukraine has accused Russia of launching the February 14 strike on Chernobyl, claims which have been denied by the Kremlin.

The NSC project, which cost €2.1 billion ($3.68 billion), was financed by over 45 donor countries and organizations through the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which spearheaded the initiative, lauded it in 2019 as “the largest international collaboration ever in the field of nuclear safety.”

On April 26, 1986, an explosion devastated Chernobyl’s Reactor Number 4, then part of the Soviet Union, releasing radioactive material across vast areas of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and beyond.