A fire broke out on Sunday at a Russian nuclear power plant after the Russian army downed a Ukrainian drone, according to a statement from the plant after the fire was extinguished.

The plant stated in a Telegram announcement that “the device exploded” upon impact with the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in western Russia, resulting in a fire that “was extinguished by firefighting teams.”

Nuclear Plant Fire

The statement added that there were no injuries from the drone crash at the site, but the plant’s power output was reduced.

The plant confirmed that “the radiation levels at the industrial site of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant and the surrounding area have not changed and remain within normal limits.”

Nuclear Plants

The International Atomic Energy Agency has consistently warned about the dangers of fighting around nuclear plants since Russia launched its military offensive against Ukraine in February 2022.

The Russian plant is located near the Russian-Ukrainian border, west of the city of Kursk, the capital of the region with a population of about 440,000.

Russia now controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

Calls from Kyiv and the West for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire have been consistently rejected.

Kursk Nuclear Power Plant

The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, located in western Russia, is a major electricity-generating facility that began operation in 1976. It is historically notable for being the first power station to use RBMK-1000 reactors, the same type involved in the Chernobyl disaster. The plant remains a significant energy provider for the region and has undergone extensive safety upgrades in the decades since.

Crimean Peninsula

The Crimean Peninsula is a historically contested Black Sea region that has been inhabited since antiquity, with Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman influences. It was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783, became part of Ukraine in 1954, and was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014, a move not recognized by most of the international community.