One UAV targeting the facility near Kursk hit the radioactive waste repository, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said
FILE PHOTO OF the central hall of a power-generating unit at Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in Kurchatov, Russia © Sputnik / Sergey Pyatakov/Sputnik
A Ukrainian UAV rammed into a nuclear waste storage facility during an attack in Kursk Region in western Russia earlier this week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has claimed. Local authorities reported on Thursday that several drones had been downed in the vicinity of the Kursk nuclear power plant.
On Saturday, Zakharova accused the Ukrainian military of deliberately targeting the nuclear facility with three UAVs. “One of the UAVs, loaded with explosives, crashed into a nuclear waste warehouse and damaged its walls,” she stated, adding that two more drones fell on an administrative building complex on the plant’s grounds.
Citing preliminary reports, Zakharova said the “unmanned aerial vehicles used to attack the nuclear power plant had components supplied by Western countries.” She went on to claim that the Ukrainian leadership has no qualms about resorting to “nuclear terrorism” in its conflict with Russia.
The spokeswoman emphasized that the latest aerial incursion “could have resulted in a full-scale nuclear disaster that would have affected many countries.” She also alleged that Kiev’s Western backers had most probably been either notified of the upcoming attack in advance, or even given the go-ahead for it.
Zakharova concluded by calling on countries as well as international organizations and NGOs to “condemn Kiev’s barbaric actions.”
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defenses had intercepted two drones, about two hours apart, over the city of Kurchatov the previous day.
Located in Kursk Region some 60km from the Ukrainian border, it is home to the eponymous nuclear power plant.
The energy facility’s press service, in turn, reported that it had been attacked by three UAVs.
While officials did not mention any damage caused by the thwarted strike, the news outlet SHOT reported at the time that one of the drones fell “next to a nuclear waste storage and blew up.”
A similar drone incident in Kurchatov that may have been an attempted attack on the plant occurred back in July.
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of attempting to sabotage its critical energy infrastructure, including nuclear power plants, amid the continuing hostilities.
