Ukraine drone hits Russian nuclear plant

Ukraine
launched a drone attack on Russia on Sunday, forcing a sharp fall in the
capacity of a reactor at one of Russia's biggest nuclear power plants and
sparking a huge blaze at the major Ust-Luga fuel export terminal, Russian
officials said.
Despite talk of peace by
Russia and Ukraine, the deadliest European war since World War Two is
continuing along the 2,000 km (1,250 mile) front line accompanied by missile
and drone attacks deep into both Russia and Ukraine.
Russia's
defence ministry said at least 95 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted across
more than a dozen Russian regions on August 24, the day that Ukraine celebrates
its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Kursk nuclear power
plant, just 60 km (38 miles) from the border with Ukraine, said that air
defences shot down a drone that detonated near the plant just after midnight,
damaging an auxiliary transformer and forcing a 50% reduction in the operating capacity
at reactor No. 3.
Radiation levels were normal,
and there were no injuries from the fire that the drone sparked, the plant
said. Two other reactors are operating without power generation, and one is
undergoing scheduled repairs.
The United Nations' nuclear
agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said it was aware of reports
that a transformer at the plant caught fire due to military activity and
stressed that every nuclear facility should be protected at all times.
A thousand km north, on the
Gulf of Finland, at least 10 Ukrainian drones were downed over the port of
Ust-Luga in Russia's northern Leningrad region, with debris sparking fire at
the Novatek-operated terminal - a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal and
processing complex, the regional governor said.
PLUME OF BLACK SMOKE
Unverified footage on Russian
Telegram channels showed a drone flying directly into a fuel terminal, followed
by a huge ball of fire rising high into the sky, followed by a plume of black
smoke billowing into the horizon.
"Firefighters and
emergency services are currently working to extinguish the blaze,"
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Russia's Leningrad region, said. There were no
injuries, he added.
According to Novatek NVTK.MM,
the Ust-Luga complex, which opened in 2013, processes gas condensate into light
and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil and gasoil, and enables the company to
ship oil products as well as gas condensate to international markets.
Novatek produces mostly
naphtha for Asia, including China, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, as well as
jet fuel with delivery to Istanbul.
Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil
aviation authority, said flights were halted for hours on end at several
Russian airports overnight, including at the Pulkovo airport in the Leningrad
region.
Ukrainian drones also
attacked an industrial enterprise in the southern Russian city of Syzran, the
governor of the Samara region said on Sunday. A child was injured in the
attack, according to the governor, who did not specify exactly what had been
attacked.
Earlier this month, the
Ukrainian military said it had struck the Syzran oil refinery. The
Rosneft-owned ROSN.MM refinery was forced to suspend production and crude
intake after the attack, sources told Reuters.
There was no immediate
comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has said its strikes inside Russia are in response
to Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine and are aimed at destroying
infrastructure deemed crucial to Moscow's overall military efforts.
















