The protective shield at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant can no longer contain radioactive material from the sites’ 1986 disaster after being crippled in a drone strike, the UN nuclear watchdog said Friday.

The shield, called the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at Chernobyl, was “severely damaged” by a Feb. 14 drone strike, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.

Ukraine accused Russia of carrying out the strike, which the Kremlin denied.

“The NSC had lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability,” the IAEA said.

The massive $2.3 billion arch-shaped structure was built in 2019 to seal in radioactive material and seal out wind, snow and rain over Chernobyl’s Number 4 reactor.

It weighs 36,000 tons and is 345 feet tall 540 feet long and spans 8

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