Rebuilding Ukraine: UK to allocate £17 million to Ukraine for repairs to Chornobyl NPP containment structure
According to the official announcement, the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary announced the assistance package.
As the UK government noted, officials will direct the allocated funds toward critical repair tasks. The scope includes restoring the protective structure over Chornobyl's destroyed fourth power unit and repairing the facility's ventilation system. Additionally, the financing aims to extend the confinement shelter's service life.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband commented on the funding decision, emphasizing that London will continue to support Ukraine and work alongside allies to bolster its security and achieve a just, lasting peace.
The UK maintains long-standing experience in supporting nuclear safety at Chornobyl. In 2020, the country became a founding donor of the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA), assuming responsibility for safety in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.
Total UK contributions to the ICCA reach 8 million euros, making Britain the third-largest individual donor after Norway and France.
The UK government press service also detailed the overall scope of assistance provided to Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, with total combined support reaching nearly 25 billion British pounds (over 33 billion US dollars).
Alongside financial and other aid, London implemented sanctions against more than 3,500 Russian individuals, organizations, and vessels.
The previous day, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham assured President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi that British support for Ukraine remains steadfast and announced accelerated deliveries of air defense systems.
Background
On the night of February 14, a Russian strike drone carrying a high-explosive warhead struck the shelter protecting the world from radiation at Chornobyl's destroyed fourth power unit.
Based on published photographs, a Geran-2 UAV—the Russian version of the Iranian Shahed drone—attacked the power unit's sarcophagus. To maximize explosive damage, Russian forces equipped the strike drone with a high-explosive warhead.
By February 15, emergency personnel successfully localized the fire affecting the filler material inside the shelter's outer cladding over Chornobyl's fourth reactor.
The IAEA reported that the drone strike created a hole approximately 6 meters in diameter, with flammable material in the roof cladding feeding the fire. Experts received briefings that plant personnel plan to install additional sensors near the strike site to measure dose rates and aerosol concentrations.
Under existing protocols, Ukrainian air defense forces do not shoot down enemy UAVs directly over nuclear facilities. Consequently, specialists emphasize that the attack represented a deliberate crime by Russian forces.
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17 of October 2026
