(MENAFN- Asia Times)
Ukraine has tried to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant, reinforcing a theory that the Kursk offensive aims at creating significant havoc by either capturing or wrecking the facility.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has reported a single suicide drone attack on the plant. Russian President Vladimir Putin said“The enemy tried to strike the Nuclear Power plant ... and the International Atomic energy Agency
(IAEA) has been informed, and they have promised to visit and send specialists to assess the situation.”
The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said he plans to visit the plant during the week of August 26.
![Ukraine Toys With Chernobyl-Like Disaster At Kursk Image](https://menafn.com/updates/pr/2024-08/25/AT_58d43cf5-d_Image_In_Body.jpg)
Concrete for the first Kursk 2 reactor is being poured in 2018.
Last year, Ukraine attacked the same facility with a drone.
Nuclear Engineering International reported
that in July 2023,“Unit 4 at Russia's Kursk NPP was completely disconnected from the grid following a Ukrainian kamikaze drone carrying explosives fell near the station.”
In the latest attack, parts of one downed drone were found about 100 meters from the complex. Photos (see below) show it is a first-person-view (FPV) quadcopter drone carrying an improvised explosive device that looks like the warhead of an RPG 7 or something similar.
The device appears to be similar to a TBG-7V warhead, which is a thermobaric bomb. Here is a picture of the warhead device as shown on a Russian Telegram channel.
![Ukraine Toys With Chernobyl-Like Disaster At Kursk Image](https://menafn.com/updates/pr/2024-08/25/AT_28faea18-e_Image_In_Body.jpg)
Source: Telegram channel TACCHere is a picture of the drone, which is battery-powered and has a short range of a few kilometers.
![Ukraine Toys With Chernobyl-Like Disaster At Kursk Image](https://menafn.com/updates/pr/2024-08/25/AT_0ecb3a66-d_Image_In_Body.jpg)
Source: Telegram channel TACCIf the photos are correct representations of what the Russian Defense Ministry and Putin say was used to attack the Kursk NPP, there is little reason to believe it could cause much real damage. The drone also seems to have been smuggled into the Kursk NPP area and operated locally.
However, Acting Governor of the Kursk Region
Alexey Smirnov reported
a more substantial attack than the Defense Ministry. He said there were four missile warnings on August 21 and 22.
He said that air defenses shot down one Ukrainian missile on the evening of August 21 and two during the night as well as a drone on August 22.
Smirnov did not report the type of missiles or drone used in the attack.
Shortly after the attack on the cooling tower of the
Zaporizhzhia
Nuclear
Power Plant on
August 11, the Russians put air defenses around the Kursk NPP, fearing a Ukrainian attack there too.
According to the Russians, two drones hit the
Zaporizhzhia
Nuclear
Power Plant. The IAEA went to the plant to assess the damage and measure any possible release of radiation.
![Ukraine Toys With Chernobyl-Like Disaster At Kursk Image](https://menafn.com/updates/pr/2024-08/25/AT_e5fb1dc2-d_Image_In_Body.jpg)
Smoke rises from a cooling tower at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine on August 11. Photo: Courtesy Ukrainian Presidential Press Office.
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