Kursk nuclear power plant faces potential shutdown amid conflict
Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said the operation of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant may be halted due to ongoing clashes with the Ukrainian army, which has been attacking the Kursk region since 6 August. "This option was considered. We analysed it," he added.
Likhachev emphasised that no decision has been made to close the station. "The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is very important and plays a key role in supplying energy to the entire region, which is extremely important now. (...) Of the four units, one is operational. For now, we believe that the security measures taken are sufficient" said the head of Rosatom.
Alleged attacks on the power plant
On 22 August, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin reported that the Ukrainian army allegedly tried to strike the nuclear power plant in Kursk. He added that the Russian authorities informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about it.
The next day, the Kremlin-controlled news agency TASS, citing a source in the law enforcement agencies, reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces again "tried to attack" the nuclear power plant in Kursk.
Then, on 28 August, the Russian National Guard announced that an unexploded cluster munition fired from HIMARS was found near the station.
Danger of a nuclear incident
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi noted that in the Kursk region, there is a "danger of a nuclear incident" due to military activities near the nuclear power plant.
Against the backdrop of the successfully developing offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the region, the Russian state propaganda agency RIA Novosti disseminated information, citing an anonymous source in the security forces, that Ukraine allegedly "plans to attack nuclear power plants in Kurchatov and Enerhodar."
The publication's interlocutor claims that charges with radioactive substances have allegedly already been delivered to the village of Zholtiye Vody in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and the target of the attack will be spent nuclear fuel storage facilities. Kyiv called this information "another outburst of insane Russian propaganda."
