Putin says Ukrainian forces tried to strike Kursk nuclear plant

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukrainian forces have tried to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Station in an overnight raid.

The Russian leader did not offer evidence for the claim but said on Thursday that Moscow has informed the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), about the incident.

Ukraine has not responded to Russia’s allegations.

“The enemy tried to strike the nuclear power plant at night. The IAEA has been informed,” Putin said in a televised government meeting.

Putin made the claim as Ukrainian forces continued to fight inside Russia more than two weeks after launching an ambitious cross-border attack, which has become an embarrassing headache for Moscow.

While the strategic aims of Ukraine’s Kursk incursion remain uncertain, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said the attack is part of an effort to bring the war to an end on terms amenable to Ukraine.

During a visit to the northern Sumy region, where his forces launched their surprise offensive into Russia, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s military had taken control of another Russian village and captured more prisoners of war.

The raids into Russian territory have also offered a much-needed boost for Ukrainian morale in the war, analysts said.

Russian and Ukrainian forces have fought about 30km (18 miles) from the Kursk nuclear plant, prompting a call for restraint on both sides from Rafael Grossi, the IAEA director general, on August 9.

Acting Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov told Putin the plant, home to four Soviet-era nuclear reactors, remains “stable”.

It is not the first time Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations of reckless attacks on nuclear plants since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian forces temporarily seized the abandoned Chornobyl power plant in northern Ukraine in 2022, a move that was criticised as “very, very dangerous” by the IAEA at the time.

Russian troops also control Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and have accused Ukraine of launching “dangerous” drone strikes in the area around Europe’s largest nuclear power station. Kyiv has denied the allegations as “fake”.