Ukrainian firefighters have made progress in extinguishing the fire on the roof of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chornobyl site caused by a drone strike on 14 February, according to a Wednesday press release from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"At the Chornobyl site, firefighters have made progress in extinguishing the fire on the roof of the New Safe Confinement (NSC)… The IAEA team at the site was informed that no smouldering fires had been detected over the past two days. The site continues to use thermal imaging and surveillance drones to monitor the structure," the IAEA said.

The Chornobyl site has continued to perform frequent radiation monitoring. The IAEA team has also undertaken its own independent monitoring. To date, all monitoring results have shown that there has not been any increase in the normal range of radiation levels measured at the site nor any abnormal readings detected.

The IAEA team at the Chornobyl site also reported multiple air raid alarms during the past week.

The IAEA teams at Ukraine's operating NPPs – Khmelnytsky, Rivne and Pivdennoukrainska – have continued to monitor the nuclear safety and security situation at these sites. The teams report hearing air raid alarms on most days, with the team at the Khmelnytsky NPP having to shelter at the site on Monday. One reactor unit at the same plant last weekend began a planned outage for refuelling and maintenance, the IAEA said.

According to the report, last week, a team of IAEA experts conducted another round of visits to seven electrical substations identified as critical for nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. As during the previous visits last year, the team observed the current status of the substations and collected relevant information to assess any potential impacts of attacks in recent months to the safe operation of Ukraine's nuclear facilities and to identify any further technical assistance that could be provided by the IAEA.