Britain will provide £17 million ($22.4 million) in funding for critical repairs to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, whose protective shelter and ventilation system were damaged by a Russian drone strike last year, the British government said Thursday.
The funding will form part of an international program coordinated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in cooperation with the Ukrainian government and Group of Seven (G7) donors aimed at restoring the facility's nuclear safety functions.
The repairs are intended to restore the protective structure's confinement and ventilation functions and preserve its expected lifespan. Without the work, corrosion could undermine decades of international investment and increase long-term environmental and safety risks, the British government said.
Read: Russian drone hit nuclear-fuel storage facility near Chernobyl, Ukraine says
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said Britain's commitment to Ukraine remained firm as Russia's full-scale invasion continued.
“We are curtailing the war chest funding [Russian President Vladimir] Putin so desperately wants and backing the reconstruction of Ukraine, which has suffered at the hands of his barbaric attacks,” Healey said.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain would continue working with its allies to strengthen Ukraine's security and increase the cost of Russia's aggression.
“Our message to Putin is clear – we stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and will do so until they prevail,” Miliband said, adding that London was working towards a just and lasting peace.
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