Maintaining the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is becoming increasingly costly for Ukraine. The state budget has allocated 2.66 billion hryvnias for 2025, which is 15% more than last year. This was reported by Glavkom, citing data from the DiXi Group analytical center.
What the funds are spent on
The bulk of the budget, specifically 1.52 billion UAH (57.1% of the total), is allocated to maintaining the safety of the decommissioned power units at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the "Shaft" facility, and measures to decommission the plant. DiXi Group analysts presented this data based on information from the Energy Map portal.
Other expenditures are distributed as follows:
- radioactive waste management, including the operation and development of the “Vector” complex – 0.53 billion UAH (20.1%), although this area is underfunded relative to the plan, with implementation reaching only about 80%;
- support for environmental safety in the exclusion zone – 0.52 billion UAH (19.7%); here, a significant increase in funding was recorded compared to last year;
- other expenditures, including administration, radiological protection of the population, and preservation of ethnocultural heritage – approximately UAH 0.09 billion (3.1%).
Budget indicators
The expenditure plan for 2025 was UAH 2.80 billion, but UAH 2.66 billion was actually spent—this represents approximately 95% budget execution, exceeding the 2024 figure (when 92% of the planned amount was spent). In dollar terms, expenditures also increased by 11%, reaching $63.8 million. The difference between the hryvnia and dollar increases is due to currency fluctuations.
Steady growth in funding
Funding for the exclusion zone has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 2023, expenditures amounted to…
