Russian nuclear plant in Kursk cuts output due to drone damage to transformer

Operators cut by 50% the output of the Kursk-3 nuclear unit, a Soviet-era 1,000-MW RBMK reactor, on Aug. 24 due to damage to a plant's auxiliary transformer from a kamikaze drone, state nuclear company Rosatom said in a statement on Aug. 25.

The transformer was damaged by the wreckage of a kamikaze drone shot down by an air defense system near the plant, Rosatom said, adding that the drone was operated by the Ukrainian armed forces.

The incident resulted in no casualties, and fire from the attack was swiftly extinguished by the local fire crews, Rosatom emphasized.

Kursk-3 is the only unit at the Kursk plant in operation. Kursk-4, another RBMK-1000, is undergoing scheduled maintenance, while Kursk-1 and -2 were permanently shut in 2021 and 2024, respectively.

This is the first time Rosatom has confirmed that a Russian nuclear unit's operation was impacted by a kamikaze drone.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that the radiation levels near the Kursk plant remained within the normal level following the incident.

"IAEA monitoring confirms normal radiation levels near Kursk nuclear plant; Russia says reactor unit's power reduced due to auxiliary transformer damage but fire extinguished and no injuries," the IAEA said in a statement on X platform on Aug. 24.

The IAEA said it could not independently confirm whether the damage was from military activity.

Russian consumer rights protection regulator Rospotrebnadzor said that it organized regular monitoring of the radiation situation near the Kursk plant following the incident. In a statement on its social media channels on Aug. 24, the agency stated that measurements are taken every two hours in populated areas as close as possible to the borders of the Kursk plant.

Bordering Ukraine's Sumy region on the northwest, the Kursk region has repeatedly suffered from kamikaze drone attacks.

In September 2024, Rosatom considered shutting the Kursk plant due to security risks following the Ukrainian armed forces incursion in the region in August, Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom CEO, said in a statement at that time. Kursk II construction was also affected, Likhachev said, without providing additional details.