VIENNA, Austria: A drone struck the cooling tower of Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant near the Ukrainian border but caused no fire, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday, urging “maximum military restraint” to prevent the risk of a nuclear accident.
The IAEA said it had been informed that the cooling tower of a reactor unit at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant was hit by a drone early on Thursday.
The agency said there were no reports of a fire following the incident, while stressing the need to avoid actions that could compromise nuclear safety and security.
“It was reported that the unit was operating at the time, but its operating mode did not change, and there was no fire,” the IAEA said on X.
The IAEA has been informed that the cooling tower of a reactor unit of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in the Russian Federation was hit by a drone early on Thursday. It was reported that the unit was operating at the time, but its operating mode did not change and there was no… pic.twitter.com/UHKyNrChcw
— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) September 18, 2026
The IAEA has repeatedly warned of the risks posed by military activity around nuclear facilities since war between Russia and Ukraine started in February 2022.
The Kursk nuclear power plant is located near the Russia-Ukraine border, west of Kursk city, the regional capital with a population of around 440,000.
“All attacks on nuclear facilities are unacceptable as they could endanger nuclear safety and security, irrespective of where they occur,” the IAEA said in its X post on Friday.
IAEA head Rafael Grossi “also reiterates call for maximum military restraint to prevent the risk of a nuclear accident,” it added.
France’s nuclear umbrella creating risks for Russia: Moscow
Russia condemned on Tuesday a French security initiative to bring European countries under its nuclear umbrella as a “reckless” policy that was “creating risks” for Moscow.
“Of course, this is creating risks for us. And of course, we must control it,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.
Finland said this week it would join the project, which extends France’s nuclear deterrent to other European countries through joint exercises.
It allows participating countries, for the first time, to temporarily host French nuclear-armed aircraft.
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Paris would retain national control over its nuclear arsenal, with the final decision on its use remaining with the French president.
Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment when it joined NATO in 2023 after the Russia-Ukraine war started in 2022.
Zakharova said that the placement of French nuclear hardware closer to Russia’s borders would only make it “simpler” for Russia’s military to hit it in the event of a conflict.
