Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on a nuclear plant that has caused a fire and damage to an auxiliary transformer as Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day for the 34th time.Sunday’s attack forced a 50 percent reduction in the operating capacity at reactor number three at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), close to the border with Ukraine, according to Russian officials, who added that several power and energy facilities were targeted in the overnight strikes.The fire at the nuclear facility was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported, the plant’s news service said on Telegram. Two other reactors are operating without power generation, and one is undergoing scheduled repairs, it said, adding that radiation levels were normal.Alexander Khinshtein, the Kursk region’s acting governor, said Ukrainian attacks on the plant, 60km (38 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border, “are a threat to nuclear safety and a violation of all international conventions”.The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Sunday confirmed normal radiation levels near the nuclear plant.“Monitoring confirms normal radiation levels near Kursk NPP,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a post on X.Russia and Ukraine have also accused each other of attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine and warned they could trigger a nuclear accident. The nuclear plant – Europe’s biggest – is under Russian control.In w …
