Kyiv: The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that a protective structure covering the destroyed reactor at the Chornobyl nuclear plant has been damaged and is no longer functioning at its full safety capacity. The damage is linked to a drone strike earlier this year.

Inspectors who visited the site reported that while the main monitoring systems remain operational and radiation levels are normal, the shield has lost its full protective function. The steel structure known as the New Safe Confinement was completed in 2019 to prevent radioactive material from spreading from the remains of the reactor that exploded in 1986.

The strike caused a section of the roofing to be damaged and insulation inside the structure caught fire. Repairs were carried out soon after the inciden

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