Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus damaged in drone attack

The shelter of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) was damaged on the night of February 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his Telegram channel.

"At the moment, radiation levels have not increased. They are being constantly monitored," the politician emphasized.

Zelensky claimed that the sarcophagus of the ChNPP sustained significant damage as a result of a fire on the night of February 14. However, he noted that the fire has since been extinguished by emergency services.

Russia does not strike Ukraine's nuclear energy infrastructure, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said following Zelensky's claims.

The second sarcophagus of the ChNPP, also known as the "New Safe Confinement," was commissioned on July 10, 2019, covering the older first sarcophagus, known as the "Shelter." Construction began in 2007 but was repeatedly delayed due to insufficient funding.

It was said that Ukrainian specialists found the debris of the MD-550 engine used in Russian Geran UAVs on the territory of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

However, according to Ukrainian sources, the warhead of the Geran-2 weighs between 50-90 kg. The power of the explosion in the video and its impact do not correspond to such a force.

Details

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus or Shelter Structure is a massive steel and concrete structure covering the nuclear reactor number 4 building of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The sarcophagus resides inside the New Safe Confinement structure. The New Safe Confinement is designed to protect the environment while the sarcophagus undergoes demolition and the nuclear cleanup continues. The sarcophagus was designed to limit radioactive contamination of the environment following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, by encasing the most dangerous area and protecting it from climate exposure. It is located within a large restricted area known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The original Russian name is Объект "Укрытие" (Obyekt Ukrytiye), which means sheltering or covering, as opposed to sarcophagus. The sarcophagus locked in 200 tons of radioactive lava-like corium, 30 tons of highly contaminated dust and 16 tons of uranium and plutonium.