Kiev targets nuclear plant during IAEA chief’s Moscow visit
Kiev attempted to strike the Kursk II nuclear power plant with a drone on Thursday, while International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi was praising Russian technological achievements during a visit to Moscow.
Kursk Region Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein said the UAV hit one of the auxiliary buildings at the NPP construction site in the city of Kurchatov, leaving the walls pocked with shrapnel but causing no fire or casualties. The plant operator, Rosenergoatom, said the facility continued to operate normally and that radiation levels remained stable.
The attack came as IAEA Director General Grossi was attending the Global Atomic Forum, where he highlighted Russia’s role as a “pioneer” in fields such as floating NPPs, nuclear-powered shipping, and fusion research.
He invited Russian firms to join an IAEA conference on artificial intelligence in the nuclear industry in Vienna this December, and suggested that his agency explore a partnership with the BRICS New Development Bank.
Later in the day, Grossi met with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, where the two discussed global nuclear safety and Russia’s cooperation with the IAEA. Putin praised the agency’s work and pledged Moscow’s continued support.
“We will do everything in our power to support your activities,” Putin told Grossi, who recently announced his candidacy to become the next UN Secretary General.
The Kursk strike follows repeated attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the largest facility of its kind in Europe, which this week switched to backup diesel generators for the tenth time since coming under Russia’s control in 2022.
Russian officials have accused Kiev of “nuclear terrorism,” warning that these incidents could have catastrophic consequences.
Rosatom head Aleksey Likhachev told journalists on the sidelines of the forum that Grossi was “well aware” of where the attacks on Russian nuclear facilities originate, but suggested that the IAEA chief was constrained in what he could say officially. “In person, he makes quite adequate assessments, believe me,” Likhachev said.
