The protective structure built to contain radioactive material at the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site is no longer fully performing its key safety function after being damaged in a drone strike earlier this year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday.

Ukraine has blamed Russia for the attack, which sparked a fire and tore through parts of the structure’s outer protective layer. Moscow has denied involvement.

The New Safe Confinement (NSC), the massive steel arch installed over the destroyed Reactor No. 4, was “severely damaged” during a February strike and has “lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability,” the UN nuclear watchdog said.

Despite the impact, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi noted that the inspection “found that

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