Ukraine controls Chernobyl. After a brief Russian military occupation in early 2022, Ukrainian authorities fully regained control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and its surrounding Exclusion Zone. Today, a layered system of Ukrainian government agencies, a state-run enterprise, military units, and international monitors jointly manage the site.
How Ukraine Regained Control After the 2022 Occupation
Russian forces seized the Chernobyl plant on February 24, 2022, the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For roughly five weeks, Russian troops occupied the site while Ukrainian staff were trapped inside, unable to rotate shifts. One group of 50 workers remained at their posts for over 600 hours straight, maintaining safety systems under occupation. The IAEA called their eventual rotation “long overdue” and praised staff who had “heroically performed their professional duties.”
On March 31, 2022, Russian troops announced their withdrawal and formally handed the site back to Ukrainian personnel. A signed transfer document involved representatives from Russia’s National Guard, Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom, and a Chernobyl plant shift manager. Since that handover, Ukraine has maintained uninterrupted control of the plant and the broader Exclusion Zone.
The Government Agency in Charge
The State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management (known by its Ukrainian acronym SEZA) is the central government body responsible for the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It oversees policy related to the ongoing consequences of the 1986 disaster, radioactive waste management, and governance of the restricted territory. SEZA sets priorities, allocates funding, and coordinates the various organizations operating inside the zone.
Separately, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) handles nuclear safety oversight. It monitors radiation levels, shares data with international partners, and serves as Ukraine’s point of contact with the IAEA’s emergency information exchange system.
Who Runs the Plant Itself
Day-to-day operations at the power plant fall to the State Specialised Enterprise Chornobyl NPP (SSE ChNPP), a Ukrainian state-owned company. Although the last reactor shut down in 2000, the site still requires constant management. SSE ChNPP handles decommissioning work, spent fuel storage, and maintenance of the massive New Safe Confinement, the arched steel structure placed over the destroyed Reactor 4 in 2016.
The New Safe Confinement was built through an international partnership involving Bechtel and Battelle Memorial (both U.S.-based companies) alongside ChNPP staff. But once it was commissioned, responsibility for operating and funding it shifted entirely to Ukraine. Running the structure costs an estimated $60 million per year, paid from the Ukrainian state budget.
SSE ChNPP also operates ISF-2, a dry spent fuel storage facility designed to hold fuel assemblies from the plant’s decommissioned reactors for the long term. The facility, completed with the help of Holtec International after an earlier French contractor was removed from the project, began accepting spent fuel in 2020. Staff rotate in and out of the zone on scheduled shifts, working in an environment that still demands careful radiation protection protocols.
Military and Border Security
Ukraine’s National Guard provides physical security for both the Chernobyl plant and the Exclusion Zone. Since the Russian withdrawal, the Guard has strengthened its presence significantly. Commanders have inspected checkpoints, built up defensive fortifications, and coordinated with Ukraine’s broader Defense Forces to counter potential sabotage threats.
The Exclusion Zone sits close to the Belarusian border, making it a sensitive area from both a nuclear safety and a national security standpoint. The National Guard treats border protection as a core part of its mission at Chernobyl, maintaining strongholds and conducting ongoing threat assessments.
International Monitoring
The IAEA maintains a permanent team of experts on-site at Chernobyl. Their role is to independently verify nuclear safety and security conditions, a presence that became especially important after the 2022 occupation raised global alarm about the vulnerability of nuclear facilities in conflict zones. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has stated the agency “will continue to do everything it can to support efforts to fully restore nuclear safety and security at the Chornobyl site.”
Ukraine also operates a network of radiation monitoring stations throughout the country and around the Chernobyl plant. Multiple organizations feed data into this network: the SSE “Ecocentre” inside the Exclusion Zone, the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre, environment monitoring labs at Ukraine’s operating nuclear plants, and SSE ChNPP itself. The SNRIU coordinates all this data and shares it with the IAEA through a secure 24/7 information exchange system. During wildfire events in the zone, for example, the SNRIU has provided regular radiation updates to the international community, with the IAEA confirming no radiation-related risk to neighboring countries.
What Control Looks Like in Practice
Controlling Chernobyl in 2024 and 2025 means managing a site that is simultaneously a decommissioning project, a long-term nuclear waste storage location, a military buffer zone near a hostile border, and an environmental monitoring challenge. No single entity handles all of this alone. SEZA sets government policy. SSE ChNPP runs the plant and its facilities. The National Guard secures the perimeter. The SNRIU enforces safety standards. The IAEA provides independent oversight.
The site also continues to attract international attention and cooperation. SSE ChNPP has hosted official visits from foreign governments, including members of the UK Parliament, and receives humanitarian aid shipments from the IAEA for its operational personnel. Ukraine bears the financial and logistical burden of managing the site, but the international community remains involved through monitoring, technical assistance, and funding support for specific projects.