Putin Alleges Ukrainian Attack on Kursk Nuclear Power Station

President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of attempting to attack Russia's Kursk nuclear power station. The Kursk plant provides significant electricity to southern Russia. Located in Kursk region, the plant houses four reactors similar to Chernobyl's. Reactors 1 and 2 are shut down; 3 and 4 remain operational. New reactors are under construction.

President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Thursday of attempting an overnight strike on Russia's Kursk nuclear power station. Putin provided no documentary evidence to support his claim, and there has been no immediate response from Ukraine.

The Kursk power station, one of Russia's key nuclear facilities, supplies approximately half of the electricity consumed in the Black Earth region of southern Russia. It is situated on the Seym River near the town of Kurchatov in Russia's western Kursk region, which is named after Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov. Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border incursion into the region on August 6.

The plant comprises four Soviet-era RBMK-1000 reactors, the same design as those at the Chernobyl plant, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Reactor Number 1 was shut down in 2021, and Reactor Number 2 in 2024, while Reactors 3 and 4 remain operational. Construction of new VVER-TOI type reactors began in 2018 but they are not yet operational.

(With inputs from agencies.)