IAEA experts issued a verdict on the cause of the fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

IAEA experts have issued an official release outlining the results of the inspection of the roof of the sarcophagus of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where a fire broke out last Friday. RIA Novosti informs about this today, February 16.

The IAEA verdict — The emergency happened as a result of a strike on the roof of a drone.

EADaily reminds that Kiev blamed the Russian military for what happened on the territory of the NPP, but did not provide evidence. In turn, the Russian State Duma called the incident a provocation by the Ukrainians. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov also recalled that all such allegations about Moscow's strikes on nuclear power facilities are a fraud and a provocation.

"The ongoing efforts to extinguish and prevent the spread of the remaining fires, which apparently was caused by the presence of combustible materials in the roof cladding, led to a delay in the start of work to repair the damage caused to the new protective structure, which was erected over the sarcophagus in 2019," the IAEA materials say.

The nuclear experts checked the explosion site and found that the drone had punched a hole in the roof with a diameter of six meters. But the structure of the building itself was not damaged. The radiation level at the site is within the normal range.