OTTAWA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Canada announced on Tuesday it will provide 8 million Canadian dollars (7 million U.S. dollars) in financial aid to the shelter at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

    This contribution is part of Canada's commitment to the Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, launched by the G8 in 2002.

    The new funding brings Canada's total contribution to Chernobyl-related projects to 66.2 million Canadian dollars (56.2 million U.S. dollars).

    In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay reiterated commitment to Ukraine and neighboring countries, pledging "Canada will continue to support Ukraine as it copes with the effects of the world's worst nuclear accident."

    The explosion and fire at the Chernobyl power station on April 26, 1986 left at least 4,000 people dead, sending radiation across Europe and contaminated large swathes of territory in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

    Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko urged donors on Monday to help tackle the enduring aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, especially the completion of a new cover for the plant's devastated reactor. Enditem