Lithuania allocates 2 million euros for Chernobyl cover repairs

Lithuania will contribute 2 million euros to restore the protective cover at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, LRT reported. The Cabinet decided on Wednesday to allocate the funds to the Finance Ministry for a contribution to a financial mechanism administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The cover, which isolates radioactive materials and helps ensure the safe decommissioning of the plant, was damaged in a Russian drone attack last February. Ukraine said radiation levels did not rise after the strike.

Initial estimates suggest the restoration could cost at least 500 million euros. The cover’s main protective functions are expected to be restored by 2030. As the cost was not included in the budget, Lithuania’s contribution will come from borrowed state funds.

In 1986, one of the plant’s reactors exploded during a safety test, causing the world’s largest nuclear accident. Radioactive clouds spread across much of Europe and tens of thousands of people were evacuated. A large concrete and steel enclosure, known as a sarcophagus, was later built over the reactor to contain radiation.