The United States government has pledged up to $100 million to help repair the protective dome covering the Chornobyl nuclear disaster site in Ukraine, following damage linked to a Russian drone strike.

The US State Department announced on Wednesday that the funding would be provided in coordination with Congress as part of ongoing international efforts to maintain nuclear safety at the site.

According to the statement, the contribution represents nearly one-fifth of the estimated $500 million required to restore the structure, which shields the destroyed reactor from further radiation leakage.

The dome was originally installed in 2016 over the remains of the reactor that exploded in 1986, one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, which forced large-scale evacuations across Europe.

The State Department said the funding reflects Washington’s continued commitment to nuclear safety and non-proliferation, while also calling on other G7 and European partners to increase their financial support.

“We call upon our G7 and European partners to follow suit and make substantial financial commitments to share the burden of these essential repairs,” the statement said.

Officials noted that the damage occurred after a drone strike in February 2025 during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which created a hole in one of the protective layers of the containment structure.

However, the US statement did not directly assign blame, instead describing it as damage caused “in a drone strike during the senseless ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.”

Chornobyl remains a sensitive global environmental site after the 1986 explosion, which released radioactive material across parts of Europe and led to long-term evacuation and exclusion zones in Ukraine.

Russia briefly occupied the plant in the early stages of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine before later withdrawing.

Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of endangering nuclear facilities through military strikes, warnings that continue to raise international concern over potential environmental risks.