The International Atomic Energy Agency discovers damage to the protective shield of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine

The International Atomic Energy Agency revealed that the impact of drones in an attack in February led to the deterioration of the structure, and the conclusions come after an inspection conducted last week at the nuclear power plant.

The inspection mission “confirmed that the protective structure had lost key safety functions, including containment capacity, but also found that there was no permanent damage to its support structures or monitoring systems,” the agency’s director general, Rafael Grossi, said in a statement.

Grossi noted that repairs have already been carried out, “but full restoration remains necessary to prevent further deterioration and ensure long-term nuclear safety.”

The United Nations reported on February 14 that Ukrainian authorities said a drone carrying a high-explosive warhead struck the plant, causing a fire and damaging the protective layer around reactor number four, which was destroyed in the 1986 disaster. Ukrainian authorities said the drone was Russian. Moscow denied attacking the factory.

Radiation levels remained normal and stable, and no radiation leakage was recorded.As the United Nations reported last February. The 1986 Chernobyl explosion spread radiation across Europe and prompted Soviet authorities to mobilize large numbers of men and equipment to deal with the accident. The station’s last operating reactor was shut down in 2000.

Russia occupied the factory and the surrounding area for more than a month in the first weeks of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when its forces initially tried to advance on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

The IAEA conducted the inspection at the same time as a nationwide study of damage to electrical substations caused by the nearly four-year war between Ukraine and Russia.