Kiev, 5 September 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that a cooling tower damaged in a fire at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant will likely require demolition.

"This big structure is not usable in the future, so it will probably be demolished at some point in the future," IAEA director Rafael Grossi said during a visit to the nuclear power plant on Wednesday.

The cooling tower at Europe's largest nuclear plant was damaged during a fire in August. Ukraine has accused the Russian occupiers of causing the fire, while the plant management appointed by Russia, and the administration for the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhya region, on the other hand, blamed a Ukrainian drone attack.

Grossi had previously said that the damage to the cooling tower did not compromise the safety of the six reactors currently inactive at the plant.

The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which Russia has occupied for almost two and a half years following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has repeatedly been the target of attacks or acts of sabotage, for which Moscow and Kiev blame each other.

Photo: EPA