Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued a statement on Aug. 23 demanding that the International Atomic Energy Agency respond to an attempted drone attack on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. “The IAEA must immediately respond to the act of nuclear terrorism on the part of the Kiev regime,” she said, reported TASS.
A Russian law enforcement officer told TASS earlier that the Kiev regime had made an attempt to attack the nuclear facility using a kamikaze drone in the early morning hours of the same day. The drone was downed in the immediate vicinity of the NPP in Kurchatov by means of Russian electronic warfare, he added. “Ukrainian forces embarked on the path of nuclear terrorism as they chose to target the NPP in Kurchatov in the Kursk Region,” the officer said.
The law enforcement officer noted that, prior to this incident, Ukrainian drones were jammed twice already near this NPP this month, on August 14 and 16. “An examination of debris from the fallen drones in the three incidents shows that those UAVs and their components were identical,” he explained.
The IAEA confirmed that they had been “informed by the Russian Federation today that the remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.” In response, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that he would “personally assess the situation” during his visit to the Kursk plant next week—a trip that had already been planned. “Military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant is a serious risk to nuclear safety and security. My visit to KNPP next week will provide us with timely access to independently assess the situation,” Director General Grossi said.
The chairman of the Slovenian National Party Zmago Jelincic responded to the news: “The goal of the drone attack was to cause a Chernobyl-like disaster and contaminate all of Europe with radiation. Fortunately, this unprecedented terrorist attack failed. It was an attempt to unleash World War III,” TASS quoted him as saying.
