Russia accused Ukraine on Sunday of striking one of its nuclear power plants in an overnight drone attack that caused no increase in radiation levels.
The alleged attack sparked a fire at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant near the Russia-Ukraine border, forcing a 50% reduction in operating capacity at one of the facility’s nuclear reactors. The fire was quickly extinguished, and no injuries were reported.
Radiation levels remained normal, the U.N. nuclear watchdog confirmed.
“Monitoring confirms normal radiation levels near Kursk NPP,” the International Atomic Energy Agency posted on X. “Russia says reactor unit’s power reduced due to auxiliary transformer damage but fire extinguished and no injuries.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has emphasized that “every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.”
Russia and Ukraine have also accused each other of attacking the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe. Although the plant is located in southeastern Ukraine, it has been under Russian control since the war’s early days in 2022. Amid concerns that attacks on the facility could trigger a nuclear catastrophe, a fire was detected at the nuclear power plant earlier this month.
Despite recent progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, the two nations continue trading fire via missile and drone attacks.
Russian officials said its air defenses intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said 48 Russian drones were shot down or jammed out of 72 drones and decoys in addition to a cruise missile.
The latest attacks come as Ukraine celebrates its own independence day in commemoration of its freedom from the Soviet Union in 1991.
In a video message to his countrymen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to maintain Ukraine’s independence amid the three-year war with Russia. He also stressed that any effort at securing peace will be decided by Ukraine alone.
Last week, Zelensky met with President Donald Trump and a group of European leaders at the White House to discuss how the Russia-Ukraine war can be ended. That meeting followed Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
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The next step in peace talks is to set up a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, although Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said there are no plans for such a meeting yet.
On Sunday, Zelensky thanked Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for visiting Ukraine in a symbolic gesture. Canada continues to provide aid in support of Ukraine’s defenses, with Carney saying peace through strength is the only way to deter Russia from attacking the war-torn nation in the future.