DISINFO: Ukraine tried to attack Kursk NPP with a kamikaze drone
SUMMARY
On the night of August 22, Kyiv attempted an act of nuclear terrorism using a kamikaze drone to target a nuclear power plant in Kurchatov, Kursk Oblast. Russian radio-electronic warfare systems intercepted and shot down the drone near the plant. The warhead, crafted from an anti-tank grenade, was designed to penetrate armour.
RESPONSE
This narrative is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign about nuclear threats, linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and recent developments in the Ukrainian advance into Kursk Oblast in August 2024. There are no independent confirmations that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to attack the Kursk NPP. These accusations against Ukraine aim to distract from the Kremlin’s own nuclear blackmail tactics, including threats to use tactical nuclear weapons and plans to provoke a nuclear disaster at Russian-controlled power plants.
Moreover, Russia, not Ukraine, that has seized another country's nuclear facility and is using the Zaporizhzhia NPP to conduct hostilities against Ukraine. In April, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell stressed that the drone attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant increases the risk of a nuclear accident and that Russia should withdraw from there.
Russia has previously conducted irresponsible actions regarding this facility, including placing military equipment and troops inside its premises, using its surroundings as a base for rocket and missile attacks, and interrupting its power line. In addition, Russia rejected UN proposals to demilitarise the areas surrounding the plant, as it was waging a fear campaign about the risks of a nuclear disaster in order to advance its goals in Ukraine. Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Kyiv plans to strike nuclear power plants in Zaporizhzhia and Kursk; that Kyiv is preparing a "dirty bomb" near Zaporizhzhia and Kursk nuclear power plants; that Ukraine attacks Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to blackmail Europe with a new Chernobyl and that the US wants to prepare the world for a provocation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.