The Kursk nuclear power plant experienced a fire due to an attack by Ukrainian drones Aug. 24, the day Ukraine celebrated its independence from the then-Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow officials said.
The Kursk region’s governor and the operators at the nuclear plant said on messaging app Telegram that the Ukrainian drone was shot down by Russian air defenses near the site at around midnight local time. The Kursk power plant is 38 miles from Ukraine’s border with Russia.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on X Sunday that while radiation levels near the plant are “normal,” a transformer caught fire. A transformer in a nuclear reactor controls the voltage and current running through a reactor.
IAEA also said power was reduced by 50% at the unit, particularly reactor 3, due to the transformer damage, but the fire was extinguished.
