Experts confirmed that a cooling tower's load-bearing structure at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) can be repaired and continue operating after a fire caused by an alleged strike by Ukrainian forces was put out, head of the nuclear power plant said.
According to Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, the cooling tower of the ZNPP was attacked by the Ukrainian forces, resulting in the tower catching fire on Sunday evening local time.
However, the Ukrainian side stated on Sunday that Russia set fire to the nuclear power plant, and Russia should be held accountable for this.
Currently, the radiation levels at the nuclear power plant remain within normal limits.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts on Monday visited the plant's cooling towers to assess the impact of fire.
Their observations suggested that the primary source of the fire was unlikely to have originated at the base of the cooling tower. They did not find any remains of tyres or drones during their inspection and noted no significant disturbance of debris, ash, or soot at the tower's base.
In a statement, the IAEA confirmed that the nuclear safety of the plant was not affected, as the cooling towers are currently not in operation.
Moreover, no radioactive material was detected in the vicinity of the cooling towers. Experts conducted radiation monitoring in the area of the cooling towers and the reactors, confirming no signs of elevated radiation levels.
The team has not been able to reach definitive conclusions regarding the cause of the fire on the basis of the findings and observations so far.
Cooling tower of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains functional after fire put out
U.S. President Donald Trump's rollout of sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" may lead to global economic recession and will exacerbate inflation in the country, said a Spanish scholar.
Amid widespread opposition, Trump on Wednesday signed two executive orders, imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" on all imported goods and higher rates on certain trading partners.
Felix Valdivieso, a professor at IE Business School, told China Central Television (CCTV) that following the imposition of the tariffs, all consumers in the world will feel the pinch.
"These measures will have global economic impacts and may even lead to a recession. Analysts at Moody's Ratings have pointed out that these tariffs will drive up prices. Price increases will directly affect consumers' personal income and spending power, as well as their purchasing power," Valdivieso said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday announced his government will implement a 14.1 billion euro plan to support the economy in the face of Trump's tariffs.
He called the tariffs a "unilateral attack", saying they will harm the interests of people and businesses in both the EU and the United States itself, an opinion shared by Valdivieso.
"In other words, the U.S. is trying to make money by imposing tariffs, which will also drive up prices of domestic products. According to estimates by American analysts, the price of each car in the U.S. will go up by about 1,000 to 2,000 U.S. dollars after the tariffs are imposed. With car exports to the U.S. blocked, there will be two consequences for Europe. One is that Europe will have to find other markets to sell cars. The other is that it will have to bear the consequences of the decline in car sales in some way, so it has to reduce car production lines and lay off employees," he said.
Trump's tariffs may lead to global recession, exacerbate US inflation: Spanish scholar
