On Friday, Ukraine was charged by Russia with an attempt to assault the Kursk nuclear power station, characterising it as an “act of nuclear terrorism”. This happened just days before the United Nations atomic watchdog’s leader is expected to inspect the location. Moscow has made these allegations twice in two days, but the Ukrainian defence ministry has not yet commented. The power station is in the Kursk region of western Russia, a location that has witnessed extensive conflict since Ukrainian forces initiated a sudden attack on August 6th, responding to the Russian troops’ progress in Eastern Ukraine.
The Russian defence ministry announced having intercepted three Ukrainian drones in the Kursk region the previous night, preventing a “terrorist attack” against their operations. The state-run news service TASS in Russia cited an anonymous source stating a drone was taken down near the Kursk power plant’s spent nuclear fuel storage facility, although Reuters was unable to support these claims independently.
Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, quoted by TASS, described it as the “act of nuclear terrorism” demanding an immediate response from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN watchdog. Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA, anticipated to examine the power station in the following week, called for utmost restraint to prevent a nuclear mishap.
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, accused Ukraine of seeking to attack the facility on Thursday, and indicated that the IAEA had been notified by Moscow. However, he didn’t provide any specifics or proof related to a Ukrainian assault. The intrusion by Ukraine into Kursk on August 6th, which involved a large number of Ukrainian forces breaching the Russian boundary, marks the most significant invasion into Russia by an overseas power since World War II, catching Moscow off guard.
Kyiv has announced the creation of a safety zone in an area that has been used by Russia for strategic attack against Ukrainian targets, following the deployment of many thousands of Russian military personnel into Ukraine in 2022. There has been constant conflict approximately 30 kilometres from a nuclear facility, with Russian forces trying to remove Ukrainian troops who are attempting to solidify and broaden their controlled territory.
There are four nuclear reactors within the said plant, two of which are functioning. The construction of an additional couple of units began in 2018. Rosenergoatom, the Russian state nuclear corporation, reported last Friday that the fourth unit of the plant will be taken offline on Sunday for what they’ve termed as “scheduled preventive maintenance” that will continue for 59 days. They stated that this maintenance will involve upgrades and prolongation of the equipment’s serviceability. – Reuters
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