Putin says Ukrainian forces tried to hit Kursk nuclear plant

The Russian leader did not provide any evidence for his claim, but said the International Atomic Energy Agency had been alerted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian forces tried to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant in a night raid.

The Russian leader did not provide any evidence for the claim, but said on Thursday that Moscow had reported the incident to the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

Ukraine has not responded to Russia’s accusations.

“The enemy tried to strike the nuclear power plant at night, and the International Atomic Energy Agency was informed,” Putin said at a televised government meeting.

Putin’s statement came as Ukrainian forces continued to fight inside Russia more than two weeks after launching an ambitious cross-border offensive that has become an embarrassing headache for Moscow.

While the strategic goals of Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk remain uncertain, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that the offensive is part of efforts to end the war on terms acceptable to Ukraine.

Zelensky said during a visit to the northern Sumy region, where his forces launched their surprise attack on Russia, that the Ukrainian army had captured another Russian village and captured more prisoners of war.

Analysts said the strikes on Russian territory would also provide a major morale boost for Ukraine in the war.

Clashes broke out between Russian and Ukrainian forces about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Kursk nuclear plant, prompting Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to call for restraint from both sides on August 9.

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

This 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 took over the abandoned Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine in 2022, a move the International Atomic Energy Agency criticized at the time as “extremely dangerous.”

Russian forces also control the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and have accused Ukraine of launching “dangerous” drone attacks in the area around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Kiev has denied the allegations, calling them “false.”