Paris (France) (AFP) – The French government is hosting a "donors' conference" in Paris on Monday to raise the funds still missing to repair the arch of the sarcophagus of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, damaged last year by a Russian drone.
Published on: 09/11/2026 - 10:40
This conference "aims to raise the funds necessary to repair this sarcophagus", declared the French Minister of the Economy Roland Lescure, before opening the conference organized within the framework of the G7, chaired this year by France.
“A few weeks ago, we were able to announce that we had already raised 260 million euros of the 500 million euros needed,” he added.
“We need to raise this amount by next spring,” he continued. “We must continue the work, we must expand the circle of donors, and that is why we are meeting” today.
“I am convinced that we will be able to raise the necessary 500 million euros – at least – to repair the new containment,” declared Anatolii Kutsevol, Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine, present in Paris, saying he was “very grateful to all the partners present today for their commitments”.
Mr. Lescure's office said it hoped to "have new contributions on Monday, which the countries could announce during the day."
“The scale and complexity” of the damage caused by the Russian attack “make its complete restoration both urgent and demanding,” underlines the French government in its invitation to the conference.
The event, co-organized by the Ukrainian government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), "will be an opportunity to present the latest technical assessments and the proposed restoration strategy, as well as to take stock of existing international commitments, with a view to obtaining new pledges of substantial contributions in favor of the restoration program", he adds.
The event will be closed by Benjamin Haddad, French Minister Delegate for Europe.
The Chernobyl nuclear reactor, which exploded in April 1986, was covered in 2016 with a metal containment arch, enveloping the first concrete sarcophagus constructed urgently in 1986.
In February 2025 this structure was perforated by a Russian drone.
The United States announced at the end of April that it would release “up to $100 million” and called on its G7 partners to follow suit.
“Without repair work, the structure can no longer provide sufficient protection, which poses the threat of a dangerous leak of highly radioactive materials in Europe,” the US State Department warned in the spring.
© 2026 AFP
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