Traces of Russia's Nuclear Blackmail: IAEA Unable to Determine Cause of Fire at Russia-Occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, Europe's largest

On 12 August, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited the cooling towers of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to assess the consequences and determine the cause of the fire that occurred there on 11 August.

The IAEA commission found no traces that would confirm the public versions of the cause of the fire: neither tyres (as there were earlier reports that the occupiers could have set car tyres on fire as a provocation) nor drone debris (the occupier-controlled ‘team of workers’ at ZNPP said that there could have been a drone attack on the plant).

According to IAEA experts, the nuclear safety of Europe's largest nuclear power plant has not been affected, as the cooling towers are currently out of operation. 

The IAEA team saw drops of burnt plastic and concrete fragments in the cold water pool. There was also a characteristic smell of burning plastic. In their opinion, the damage could have been caused by a plastic mesh catching fire.

The exact cause of the incident has not yet been established. The agency promised to continue the analysis after additional inspection and access to the distribution level of the water nozzle and the cold water pool.

As a reminder, on 11 August, experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine noticed thick dark smoke from the north-western part of the plant after hearing numerous explosions during the evening. Representatives of the Russian occupiers of the plant confirmed to the team that there is no risk of increased radiation levels as there is no radioactive material in the vicinity, but the Russian occupiers did not allow the IAEA to enter the plant to verify.