EBRD seeks at least €500 million to repair damaged Chernobyl reactor shelter

A funding gap of at least €500 million

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it needs at least €500 million to repair the New Safe Confinement, the giant steel structure built over the remains of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. The reactor exploded in 1986, and the structure now protects those remains while allowing radioactive material to be managed safely. It also allows work to be carried out safely inside the destroyed plant. Damage from a Russian drone strike in February 2025 makes urgent repairs necessary, the bank warns. The cost estimate is a floor rather than a ceiling, since detailed technical assessments are still under way. G7 countries pledged €260 million in October, which covers just over half of the amount the bank considers necessary.

Estimated repair cost (at least)500

G7 pledges (October)260

Estimated repair cost (at least)

500 EUR million

G7 pledges (October)

260 EUR million

Data from the article text

Why the deadline matters

Renaud-Basso told POLITICO that the damage has to be repaired before 2030. Without repairs, moisture could corrode the infrastructure beneath the protective arch, making the radioactive material harder and more expensive to contain. The bank says there is no immediate danger, and no new release of radioactive substances has been reported so far. Renaud-Basso rejected the idea that the problem is confined to Ukraine, saying:

“It's not a Ukrainian problem.”

She argued the repairs should not be treated as competing with other urgent Ukrainian needs, such as rebuilding energy infrastructure damaged by the invasion. Instead, she said, governments should see the money as an investment in international nuclear safety, with consequences that could extend beyond Ukraine's borders.

Who pays and when

The EBRD intends to collect the remaining money so that repair work can begin in 2028, and the work is expected to last about two years. The bank does not expect Russia to pay for damage caused by the drone strike, although Renaud-Basso did not rule out that the costs could be counted in future war reparations. Asked about the wider stakes, she put it this way:

“Everybody should feel concerned about nuclear safety globally.”

The EBRD is jointly owned by the European Union, the European Investment Bank and 77 other countries, including the United States, China and Russia. The bank was set up in 1991 to support economic transition in Eastern Europe after the collapse of communism. It is also one of the main funders of projects linked to nuclear safety at Chernobyl.

Timeline of the repair plan

The sequence starts with the February 2025 drone strike that damaged the structure. In October 2026, G7 countries made their pledge of €260 million. The bank plans to begin the repairs in 2028, a process it expects to take about two years. Until then the shelter remains damaged, and the bank says it must be fixed before its condition worsens.