Explosions reported near Kursk Nuclear Plant after alleged drone strike

24 August 2025, 01:24 PM
A combat drone attacked a facility at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (Photo: Kursk Nuclear Power Plant / Telegram)

A combat drone attacked a facility at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (Photo: Kursk Nuclear Power Plant / Telegram)

Author: Demian Shevko

A series of explosions rocked the Russian city of Kurchatov in Kursk Oblast overnight on Aug. 24, according to Russian state media outlet Shot.

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.

Ad

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.

The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.

Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.

For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.

Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.

Thank you.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News

Show more news