Putin says Ukraine attempted attack on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Ukrainian military attempted to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), located in the town of Kurchatov in Russia’s Kursk region.

“The enemy tried to strike the [Kursk] Nuclear Power Plant last night. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed, and they have promised to visit and send specialists to assess the situation. I hope this will eventually be done on their part,” Putin said.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA, told the Financial Times that he plans to visit the plant next week to inspect the site.

According to the region’s acting governor, Alexey Smirnov, the situation at the plant is “stable,” and “everything is functioning normally.”

There are no independent confirmations that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to attack the Kursk NPP. Smirnov reported four missile warnings in the Kursk region between August 21 and August 22. According to him, air defense forces shot down one Ukrainian missile in the evening, and two missiles and one drone during the night. The Russian Defense Ministry only reported the downing of one drone in the Kursk region.

Representatives from the Kursk NPP and the state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom have not commented on the reports of the attempted attack.