The IAEA team at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) yesterday observed smoke while in the plant’s administrative building where its office is located, following reports of fire near the cooling towers, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

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There was no impact to nuclear safety at the plant, no casualties were reported and, using IAEA monitoring equipment, the team members found no increase in radiation levels. During a walkdown today, the team observed burnt trees close to the cooling towers.

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The team continues to investigate the event as part of its ongoing monitoring of nuclear safety and security at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP).

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The IAEA team has been informed of multiple instances of shelling in the industrial zone next to the plant over the past week. The shelling was reported to have occurred close to the ZNPP, approximately 1.2 kilometres away from the site perimeter. While it did not have any direct impact on nuclear safety of the plant, the IAEA team at the ZNPP continue to hear military activities every day.

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Over the past two weeks, the IAEA staff at the ZNPP have continued to monitor the site's cooling water systems. The ZNPP’s six reactors have been in cold shutdown since spring 2024 but still require cooling water for their safety systems, reactor cores, and spent fuel pools. The ZNPP’s external power situation remains vulnerable, with the plant having lost the connection to its last remaining 330 kV back-up power line on 7 May, leaving it dependent on its sole 750 kV line.

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The team received technical updates on water distribution across the site, including how water is fed to its nuclear safety and support systems. The team noted the increasing challenges of ensuring a reliable cooling water supply for the six reactors and their safety systems in their cold shutdown state, especially under current hot weather conditions, when the evaporation rate is high.

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During the week, the ZNPP updated the IAEA team on maintenance activities at the plant. While no maintenance work is currently taking place inside the containment of any of the plant’s six reactors, the ZNPP said routine servicing is being carried out in non-reactor areas, including the turbine halls and transformers. Maintenance on two safety trains from different units is also ongoing.

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Separately, the IAEA teams present to monitor nuclear safety and security at Ukraine’s operating NPPs — Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs – and the Chornobyl NPP site reported hearing air raid alarms nearly every day over the past week. At the Khmelnytskyy NPP, the team had to shelter on Monday.

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Three of the total nine units at Ukraine’s operating NPPs at Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine remain in shutdown for refuelling and maintenance, including necessary maintenance on off-site power lines.

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The IAEA team at the Chornobyl NPP was informed that the site plans to start temporary repair work on the New Safe Confinement (NSC) in autumn 2025. The NSC, built to prevent any radioactive release from the reactor unit 4 destroyed in the 1986 accident and to protect it from external hazards, was severely damaged by a drone in February 2025. The IAEA team was informed that the Ukrainian State regulator, SNRIU, is reviewing the documentation related to the repairs. The IAEA will support Ukraine’s efforts to repair the NSC, under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding signed during the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025, held in Rome at the beginning of July 2025.

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Text Courtesy, IAEA