Fire at Zaporizhzhia NPP contained, radiation levels remain normal

Serhiy Lysak, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, reported the information.

"The fire on the territory of Zaporizhzhia NPP has been extinguished. The radiation level in the Nikopol region is normal. We keep the situation under control," he wrote.

Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the Nikopol district administration, added that during the night and at dawn, Russian troops shelled Nikopol and the settlements of Chervonohryhorivka and Marhanets communities with cannon artillery. Fortunately, people were not injured.

At about eight o'clock in the morning, Russian FPV drones attacked the village of Myrove community.

Yevhen Yevtushenko also added that "Unofficial sources on the opposite bank indicate that Russians set fire to a large number of car tires in the cooling tower."

The administration believes that Russian troops might be either staging a provocation or attempting to incite panic in settlements on the right bank of the former reservoir.

According to Yevtushenko, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is currently operating normally.

What Energoatom says

"On August 11, 2024, at about 8:00 p.m., a fire broke out at a technical water supply facility on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. This incident resulted in the fire of cooling tower number one and damage to other process equipment," the statement said.

The probable cause is the negligence of Russian troops present at the station or deliberate arson of the cooling tower. According to Energoatom, cooling tower number one is located about a kilometer from the plant's power units.

Russian forces also use it as a warehouse for storing and hiding military equipment and ammunition, which significantly increases the risk of fires in the production facilities of the nuclear power plant.

As of 00:30 a.m., the radiation situation at the plant is within the current standards, and there is currently no threat of radiation contamination to the public.

IAEA response

IAEA experts have detected dense black smoke at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant following explosions in the evening. This incident was suspected to be the result of a possible drone attack on the cooling tower.

“Team was told by ZNPP of an alleged drone attack today on one of the cooling towers located at the site. No impact has been reported for nuclear safety,” the statement said.

President Zelenskyy's response

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that reports of the fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant were being received from Nikopol.

"Currently, the radiation indicators are normal. But as long as Russian terrorists maintain control over the nuclear power plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal. Since the first day of seizure of Zaporizhzhia NPP, Russia has been using it solely for blackmailing Ukraine, the whole of Europe and the world," the President said.

He emphasized that Ukraine is awaiting the global response to Russia's latest provocation, particularly the reaction from the IAEA.

"Russia must be held accountable for this. Only Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia station can guarantee a return to normalcy and full security," Zelenskyy added.

Local authorities' response

The head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, Serhiy Lysak, said that Ukraine is monitoring the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. 

"All responsible services are involved. Air measurements have shown that the radiation level has not been exceeded. We are constantly monitoring the situation," Lysak said.

At the same time, he appealed to the locals to remain calm: "Russia continues to use tactics of terror, blackmail and intimidation. And the fire they set today on the territory of Zaporizhzhia NPP is another confirmation of this."

Russian-installed authorities' version of events

The so-called governor of Zaporizhzhia region, Yevhen Balytskyi, said that the fire at the ZNPP cooling system facility was allegedly caused by shelling from Ukraine.

"Currently, all 6 power units of the plant are in cold shutdown, there is no threat of a steam explosion or other consequences. The radiation background around the NPP and the city of Enerhodar is normal," the collaborator said.

Reference. A cooling tower is a specialized heat exchanger in which heat is removed from water primarily by latent heat loss during evaporation in contact with the air flow.

• Recently, IAEA experts have recorded severe fires near the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. This may jeopardize the external power supply to the plant.