SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Russia says Ukraine targeted nuclear plant in drone barrage
Moscow, Sept 12 (AFP) Sep 12, 2025
Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of launching an attack drone at a nuclear power plant, as Moscow said it downed more than 200 Ukrainian drones in one of Kyiv's largest overnight attacks.

Ukraine has for months launched retaliatory drone strikes against Russian energy sites, calling them a fair response to Moscow's own barrages on its cities and power grid.

Russia's nuclear power agency Rosatom said one had targeted the Smolensk nuclear power plant, around 300 kilometres (186 miles) west of Moscow.

Air defences "neutralised a Ukrainian combat drone near the third power unit of the Smolensk nuclear power plant," at around 4:00 am (0100 GMT), it said in a statement.

The debris shattered some windows but caused no major destruction or injuries. The plant remains in operation and there has been no change in radiation levels, Rosatom added.

Ukraine and Russia have throughout the conflict accused each other of targeting nuclear sites, drawing warnings and concern from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Russia's army captured the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant on the first day of its military campaign in February 2022, withdrawing a month later.

Moscow also captured -- and still holds -- the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the largest nuclear facility in Europe.

Russia's defence ministry had earlier said it had downed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukraine's air force said Russia had fired 40 drones in its own overnight attack -- much fewer than normal.

The governor of Russia's Leningrad region Aleksandr Drozdenko said a fire had broken out on a vessel in the Port of Primorsk, a major facility on the Baltic Sea, but the blaze had been brought under control and there was no risk of an oil spill.

The attacks came after Poland, which borders Ukraine, accused Russia of launching a drone raid on its territory earlier this week.

Moscow has denied targeting the country and said there was no evidence the drones were Russian.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
ICE-CSIC leads a pioneering study on the feasibility of asteroid mining
NASA JPL Unveils Rover Operations Center for Moon, Mars Missions

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Thorium plated steel points to smaller nuclear clocks
Solar ghost particles seen flipping carbon atoms in underground detector
Overview Energy debuts airborne power beaming milestone for space based solar power

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.