The IAEA said earlier that its experts had not found any tire remains during the inspection of the Zaporozhye NPP's cooling tower after the fire. The Ukrainian side earlier claimed that the Russians were "burning tires" near the tower.
"The IAEA information summary has definitely refuted the Ukrainian version. It states that during the visit to the damaged cooling tower, the agency's experts did not observe any remains of car tires. Thus, the Ukrainian fake was exposed within 24 hours," Ulyanov said on Telegram.
Earlier, Russian state corporation Rosatom said that the ZNPP's cooling tower had been seriously damaged as a result of two direct strikes by the Ukrainian forces' drones. The fire that broke out was extinguished by the Russian Emergencies Ministry, and the threat of collapse of the structure will be assessed by specialists when the situation allows doing it, Rosatom said. The ZNPP cooling tower burnt out from the inside after the UAV strikes, the restoration time will be clear after assessing its condition, the plant's spokesperson said.
The IAEA experts did not detect any elevated radiation at the ZNPP cooling towers and reactors after the recent fire, the IAEA said.
"No radioactive material is present in the area of the cooling towers, which is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from the reactor units at ZNPP. The team conducted radiation monitoring in the area of the cooling towers and the reactors and confirmed no signs of elevated radiation levels," the organization said in a statement.