On 27 April 2021, the first assembly meeting of the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA) was held. The new fund is to support and finance projects to be implemented at Chornobyl NPP site.

The fund is there to replace the Chornobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) which was established in 1997. It is thanks to contributions of donor countries that many projects related to Object Shelter were implemented, and a New Safe Confinement was constructed – one of the facilities which pays a key role in the future of Chornobyl NPP, for it allows dismantling of the Shelter and carrying out a number of activities aimed at transforming the Shelter into an environmentally safe system. The international donors and the EBRD contributed the overall of EUR 2.1 billion which were used mainly to create necessary infrastructure.

The ICCA was set up to ensure safe and transparent use of the infrastructure in line with best international practice.

The donors, EBRD and Ukraine recognize the need to develop a comprehensive plan for the site to ensure coherence, optimization and complementarity between the different tasks.

The fact that following the closure of the previous fund which was established for the construction of the New Safe Confinement, part of contributors (including Ukraine) agreed to establish a new Account – is an important and significant moment. Establishment of ICCA is important not only for future activity of Chornobyl NPP, but also for social climate in the city of Slavutych.

«This important event [first ICCA assembly meeting] is the start of a new phase of supporting Ukraine by the international community in the fight against the consequences of the disaster», — First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Bohdan Borukhovskyi on 15 April, during the visit to Chornobyl NPP site.