IAEA: Nuclear Cooling Towers in Ukraine Must Be Demolished

One of the cooling towers caught fire on August 12, and Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of the fire.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, with its six reactors, is one of the world's largest. It was captured by Russia early in the 2022 invasion and has since essentially not produced any electricity.

Many hazardous incidents have been reported there during the war, including battles, found mines, and thus fires. This has led the IAEA to warn that the situation can quickly become catastrophic if nuclear safety is not maintained in the area.

However, there are currently no reports of any acute threat to safety. The facility has two cooling towers, but they are not needed as long as the reactors are shut down.