Dear Colleagues,

Twenty-five years ago, the State Specialised Enterprise “Chornobyl NPP” was established on the basis of a separate division of the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company “Energoatom”, by separating it from that company and placing it under the authority of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Affairs of Population Protection from the Consequences of the Chornobyl Catastrophe.

Over the years that followed, ministries changed their names, new agencies were created to which the enterprise reported. What remained constant was the scope and complexity of tasks facing the station’s team. Unique experience, knowledge, and skilled personnel – these are the things we must preserve, regardless of any obstacles. The occupation did not break us, difficulties with funding and numerous reorganizations did not stop us, and we will overcome the consequences of the enemy drone attack. We will continue to carry out the functions assigned to the enterprise as the operating organization: ensuring nuclear and radiation safety, decommissioning the reactor units, and transforming the Shelter Object into an environmentally safe system. Because no one else will do this but us.

Together with the leadership of the State Agency for the Management of the Exclusion Zone and the Ministry of Energy, we are conducting systematic work to secure reliable and sufficient funding for the station. We are also working with international financial institutions to attract donor funding.

Extensive international outreach was carried out ahead of the fortieth anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. The lessons of the accident, the station’s pressing needs, and its future were discussed with the heads of such institutions as the IAEA, the OSCE, NATO, and the EBRD, as well as with energy ministers and ambassadors of the G7 countries and free Europe.

The systematic work is bearing fruit. The restoration works on the damaged New Safe Confinement are rapidly expanding and are funded for the years ahead. Today, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted on amendments to the state budget of Ukraine that will not only cover the current year’s deficit, but – for the first time in decades – will bring the salaries of Chornobyl NPP employees up to the level of personnel at operating nuclear power stations.

I would like to thank the wide circle of friends and like-minded individuals in both the executive and legislative branches of government who have united around the initiative of First Vice Prime Minister – Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal to restore fair treatment for the staff of the first nuclear power station. I thank the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his constant attention to the problems and needs of the station and the Chornobyl Zone as a whole.

The station was, is, and will remain – regardless of its ownership structure – the city-forming enterprise for the city of Slavutych. I am grateful to the city’s Mayor, Yurii Fomichev, for his constructive cooperation and support of our initiatives.

I thank the Defense Forces of the country for making it possible for us to work together toward victory. The station’s team is doing everything within our power to ensure that the tasks assigned to the SSE ChNPP are fulfilled. This work is seen across the entire world. Together, we are a model of resilience and dedication to our cause.

Glory to Ukraine!