UN watchdog reacts to Ukraine’s attack on Russian nuclear plant

A drone has damaged a transformer at the facility, causing a fire, Russian officials have said

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is “aware” of reports about a fire at the Kursk nuclear power plant (NPP) in Russia, which it said started due to “military activity.”

Russian officials earlier said that the plant, located about 50km from the border with Ukraine, had been targeted by a drone raid.

Air defense forces overnight reportedly intercepted a Ukrainian UAV which detonated on impact near the Kursk NPP, damaging an auxiliary transformer and triggering a fire, which was later put out.

“Radiation levels at the site and in surrounding areas remained unchanged,” a statement on the NPP’s official Telegram channel read.

While no casualties were reported, the NPP had to decrease the load on one of its three working units by 50%, officials said.

In a post on X on Sunday, the IAEA stopped short of assigning the blame, saying only that it “is aware of media reports that a transformer at the Kursk NPP in Russia has caught fire due to military activity. While the IAEA has no independent confirmation of these reports, [Director General] Rafael Grossi stresses that ‘every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.’”

The Kursk nuclear facility was put at risk due to the conflict with Ukraine, particularly after Kiev’s military invaded the region in force in August 2024. Russian officials declared in April that Ukrainian troops had been expelled from Kursk Region following a months-long counteroffensive.

Russian authorities have claimed that Kiev intended to seize the site, warning that if such plans had succeeded, it could have caused a nuclear accident on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

The Kursk NPP has also come under several Ukrainian strikes in recent months.

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