Explosions reported near Kursk Nuclear Plant after alleged drone strike

Preliminary reports said air defenses were activated in the city, which hosts the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Residents reported hearing at least five blasts in the outskirts of Kurchatov, allegedly linked to Ukrainian Liutyi-type drones.

Telegram channel VChK-OGPU claimed that after the drone attack and air defense response, witnesses saw a fire near the nuclear plant.

The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant’s press service later confirmed that at 12:26 a.m. local time, air defenses shot down a Ukrainian combat drone near the facility. The drone detonated on impact, damaging an auxiliary transformer. Fire crews quickly extinguished a small blaze, and Unit 3 was partially taken offline, operating at 50% capacity.

Officials insisted that radiation levels at the plant and surrounding area remained normal.

Ukraine launched its Kursk operation on Aug. 6, 2024. For six months, Ukrainian forces held the city of Sudzha near the border and controlled large areas of the Sudzhanskyi, Korenevsky, and Glushkovsky districts.

In spring 2025, Russian forces regained control of Sudzha and nearby districts, later occupying parts of Ukraine’s Sumy region and seizing several villages along the border. But by summer, Ukrainian troops managed to push Russian units back and reclaim some of the lost territory.

On June 30, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had failed in its plans to launch an offensive in Sumy Oblast. He added that Ukraine’s Defense Forces continue active operations under the Kursk campaign.

On July 27, Ukraine’s Strategic Communications Center reported that Ukrainian units within the “Kursk” grouping liberated the village of Kindrativka in Sumy Oblast from Russian occupation.