Changes to the state budget approved by the Verkhovna Rada will allow almost 600 million hryvnias to be directed toward the safe operation of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the exclusion zone. According to First Vice Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, 525 million hryvnias will go toward supporting the station's reactor units and the "Shelter" facility, with an additional over 72 million hryvnias allocated for environmental monitoring of the exclusion zone and fire prevention measures.
What this money covers — and what it doesn't
600 million hryvnias is approximately 14 million euros at the current exchange rate. For comparison: following the impact of a Russian "Horon-2" drone in February 2025 on the protective confinement (New Safe Confinement), the initial damage assessment amounts to at least €500 million. In other words, Ukrainian budget funds cover less than 3% of the cost of dome restoration alone.
"The confinement has lost its primary safety functions, including its isolation capability"
— IAEA Director Rafael Grossi following an inspection in December 2024
The IAEA did not detect structural damage to the confinement dome's load-bearing structures, however comprehensive restoration has been recognized as necessary — without it, the facility's 100-year design life will be threatened by corrosion.
Who funds restoration and on what terms
Coordination of international financing has been taken on by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which has been the principal donor of Chornobyl projects since the 1990s. The full cost of restoring the confinement to 2030 standards is estimated at €500 million — the figure announced by France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in March following a G7 meeting. The United States has already announced $100 million as its initial contribution. The EBRD is preparing its first tranche, but the timeline for its disbursement has not yet been announced.
- The drone strike on February 14, 2025 damaged the dome's outer and inner cladding and destroyed the insulation layer.
- There is no immediate radiation threat — the deepest layer of the structure was not penetrated.
- Without full restoration by 2030, corrosion could undermine the long-term isolation of the fourth reactor.
Operational reality: a station without power generation
The Chornobyl NPP has not generated electricity since 2000, yet it requires permanent staff and funding — for cooling spent nuclear fuel, monitoring radiation levels, and maintaining infrastructure. This is precisely what the 525 million hryvnias from the new budget decision covers: salaries, technical maintenance, and operational expenses. This is not "reconstruction" — it is the daily cost of maintaining a facility that humanity cannot simply lock up and abandon.
If the EBRD does not approve its first tranche for confinement restoration by the end of 2025, Ukraine will face a choice: patch the dome at the expense of an already deficit budget, or accept that a facility built with €1.5 billion in international funds will deteriorate faster than the design schedule predicts.
