The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its experts visited the damaged cooling tower at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and found no remains of the drone.
“Based on observations, the team assessed that the primary source of the fire was unlikely to have originated at the base of the cooling tower,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
His remarks came a day after Ukraine and Russia exchanged accusations following reports of a fire that broke out in one of the Russian-controlled plant’s cooling systems.
Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of attacking a cooling tower with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian troops of setting the power plant on fire.
During a visit to the affected cooling tower, Grossi said the team noticed burned areas in the internal equipment, near the water nozzle distribution level.
Debris samples, including burnt and melted plastic, were collected, he said, adding:
“During the tour, no remains of tires or a drone were observed.”
The team confirmed that there were no significant signs of disruption of the debris, ash or soot located at the base of the cooling tower, and the nuclear safety of the facility was not compromised, he stressed.
“The team has not been able to reach definitive conclusions based on the findings and observations so far,” Grossi said, adding that the IAEA will continue its overall analysis after further review and access to the distribution level of the water jets and the cold water pool.
E.Dz.
