G7 pressed to lead funding effort for Chernobyl repairs

G7 foreign ministers are set to discuss funding repairs to the protective shield at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, with costs estimated at around €500 million, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has said.

‘The G7 must play a leading role in this fundraising in close coordination with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,’ Barrot told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in France.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development president Odile Renaud-Basso is expected to attend the second day of the talks on Friday.

Damage caused by drones has prevented the protective structure from fulfilling its primary safety function, the UN nuclear watchdog reported last year.

(reuters, max)