The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has yet to determine the cause of the fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Energodar, southern Ukraine. The blaze, which began on Sunday, ignited in the plant's cooling system, with Russia and Ukraine each attributing the incident to the other.

IAEA Director General Raffaele Grossi reported that while experts were granted access to the cooling tower area, they found no evidence suggesting that the base of the tower was the origin of the fire. Instead, damage appears to be concentrated around the water nozzle distribution level, located about 10 meters above the base.

Due to security concerns, the team was unable to access the nozzle distribution level or the tower's base. They collected debris samples, including burnt and melted plastic, from the site. Grossi noted that the absence of a sulfur smell led the team to conclude that the fire was likely caused by burning plastic, rather than by tires or drones.

Russian sources have claimed that the fire was sparked by an attack drone, while Ukrainian officials have suggested that Russians may have set car tires ablaze in the cooling tower.

Grossi assured that the plant's nuclear safety remains unaffected as the cooling towers are not currently in use for reactor cooling, with the reactors in a cold shutdown state. Radiation monitoring in the cooling tower and reactor areas showed no signs of increased radiation levels.

The IAEA plans to continue its investigation, including further examination of the water nozzle distribution level and the cold water pool. Russia, which has controlled the plant since its full-scale offensive in Ukraine, has repeatedly reported Ukrainian drone attacks. Despite the shutdown of the reactors in 2022, ongoing cooling is necessary for safety.

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