Overview
- Ukraine’s New Safe Confinement, the arch that covers Reactor 4, was hit on February 14, 2025, damaging its outer layer without a radiation spike but shortening its expected life, the IAEA says.
- EBRD leaders say repairs to restore the arch’s containment functions will take years and require at least €500 million in donor funding.
- Plant managers report that dismantling work under the arch is on hold and now likely set back by years, with some officials warning the pause could stretch to a decade.
- As Sunday’s 40th anniversary approaches on April 26, 2026, the UK at the OSCE and UN officials highlight wartime threats to nuclear sites and urge the return of full Ukrainian control and tighter safeguards.
- Wider grid strikes since 2024 have destroyed over half of Ukraine’s power generation, pushing a rapid rollout of rooftop solar and battery systems to keep hospitals and water services running when the centralized network fails.