A fire erupted on Sunday at a Russian nuclear power facility after the military shot down a Ukrainian drone, according to a statement from the plant following the extinguishing of the flames.
The drone “exploded” upon hitting the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant located in western Russia, igniting a fire that was reportedly controlled by firefighting teams, as the facility noted.
Fortunately, there were no injuries caused by the drone crash at the location, although operational capacity was reduced.
The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant confirmed on Telegram that “the radiation levels at the plant and its vicinity have remained stable and are within normal limits.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency has consistently warned about the risks associated with military operations near nuclear facilities since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
The plant is situated close to the border with Ukraine, to the west of the city of Kursk, the capital of the region with approximately 440,000 residents.
Russian officials also reported that Ukrainian drones have been intercepted in areas located far from the actual conflict zone, including St. Petersburg in the northwest.
Ten drones were downed over the port of Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland, which led to a fire at a fuel terminal owned by Russian energy company Novatek, according to regional governor Alexander Drozdenko’s Telegram update.
Ukraine’s military, although smaller and less equipped, has heavily depended on drones to counter Russia’s invasion, specifically targeting oil infrastructure to undermine a crucial source of revenue for Moscow’s war efforts.
Since the attacks commenced, Russia has experienced a significant rise in fuel prices.
In the meantime, Ukraine reported that Russia launched an overnight assault involving a ballistic missile and 72 Iranian-made Shahed drones, of which the air force claimed to have shot down 48.
A Russian drone strike resulted in the death of a 47-year-old woman in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, as reported by the regional governor.
