Dangerous Drone Attack: Chernobyl Shield is Severely Damaged!

Eric Schmieman spent 15 years working on an incredible project: building a huge protective shield for the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, which was damaged in a terrible disaster. This giant steel shell is the biggest movable structure in the world. It was placed over Reactor No. 4 in 2016 and is as tall as a football field, weighing almost 40,000 tons. Over 45 countries and organizations spent nearly $1.7 billion to build it.

“We thought about a lot of bad things that could happen,” said Schmieman, a 78-year-old retired engineer. “But we didn’t think about war.” On February 14, a drone carrying explosives hit the shield, making a hole in it. Ukrainian officials believe that Russians targeted this structure with the drone, but the Kremlin denies this.

Though firefighters quickly put out the initial fire, some parts of the shield smoldered for almost three weeks. Emergency workers had to climb and look for the fire inside the shield when they found it was still burning. By March 7, Ukraine announced the fire was finally out, but by then, much of the shield was already damaged.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later confirmed that the drone attack caused severe damage to the shell. Thankfully, radiation levels outside of Chernobyl are still normal. However, it’s unclear how the shield can be repaired, how much it will cost, or how long it will take. Experts warn that repairs could take years, delaying plans to dismantle the damaged reactor and dispose of the radioactive waste.

The original structure was built to protect Europe and the world from the threat inside, but now, after the drone attack, it’s not working properly. Greenpeace released a report saying the attack compromised the shell’s functions, and experts believe it might need to be removed and replaced completely.

Chernobyl has been a sensitive place since the nuclear disaster in 1986, which released harmful radiation into the air and affected many lives in Europe. The emergency shelter built by Soviets at that time was not meant to last, leading to the construction of the bigger protective shield.

The experts involved are now facing a tough challenge. They need to close the hole from the drone strike and fix the damage caused by the fire. This would involve significant work, including reducing the humidity inside the shield to prevent corrosion. Using drones could help with damage assessment and repairs, as Ukraine has developed drone technology rapidly due to the current war.