On May 6, 2026, during an offsite meeting of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Presidium of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, a Joint Decision of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Agency of Ukraine for the Exclusion Zone Management was signed regarding the organization (scientific supervisor) for ensuring the safe operation of the New Safe Confinement complex and the "Shelter" object, the transformation of the "Shelter" object into an environmentally safe system, and the decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP power units. The decision was signed on behalf of the Academy by its President, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Anatoliy Zahorodniy, and on behalf of the SAUZ by the acting head of the agency, Volodymyr Feschenko.
"The Chernobyl zone is an open-air laboratory that attracts both foreign and Ukrainian specialists to obtain new scientific and technical data on the consequences of the disaster, the impact of radioactive contamination on the environment, humans, and materials. This laboratory has allowed the accumulation of a vast array of scientific and technical information on the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, which holds global significance. From the first hours of the accident, our scientists—physicists, chemists, biologists, medics—were here on the front line. It was academic science that provided answers to how to stop and how to protect," Anatoliy Zahorodniy recalled. "The 'Shelter' object and the New Safe Confinement are unique engineering structures with no analogues in the world. However, we understand: safety is not a state, it is a continuous process."
Thus, according to the head of the NAS of Ukraine, the signing of the Joint Decision appointing the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants of the NAS of Ukraine as the scientific supervisor for ensuring the safe operation of the New Safe Confinement complex and the "Shelter" object is a logical and strategically important step. "By this decision," Anatoliy Zahorodniy explained, "the Institute is entrusted with important tasks of scientifically substantiating the reliability of safety systems; developing and implementing technologies for handling nuclear materials; and international scientific coordination so that Ukraine's experience serves the safety of all humanity."
"Under current conditions, when new challenges arise for the Chernobyl NPP—from restoring reliable operation of the New Safe Confinement to military threats—we clearly understand that without strong scientific support, these tasks cannot be performed qualitatively and safely. That is why we especially value and develop cooperation with the country's leading scientific institutions. Only relying on science, experience, and modern technologies can we transform the Chernobyl zone from a symbol of disaster into an example of responsible and safe nuclear heritage management," emphasized the acting head of the State Agency of Ukraine for the Exclusion Zone Management, Volodymyr Feschenko.
In conclusion, the President of the NAS of Ukraine, academician Anatoliy Zahorodniy, expressed confidence that the signing of the Joint Decision will contribute to more effective involvement of the Academy's scientific potential in solving nuclear energy problems, ensuring reliable operation, and further development of the atomic industry.
Announcement on the SAUZ website
According to information from the Department of Energy and Energy Technologies of the NAS of Ukraine,
Department of Nuclear Physics and Energy of the NAS of Ukraine
and the State Agency of Ukraine for the Exclusion Zone Management
Photo: Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants of the NAS of Ukraine
and Oleksiy Dorofeyev
