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 western Russia’s Leningrad region, firefighters responded to a blaze at the port of Ust-Luga, home to a major fuel export terminal. The regional governor said about 10 Ukrainian drones were shot down and the debris ignited the fire.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defences intercepted a total of 95 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Sunday.
Russia fired 72 drones and decoys along with a cruise missile into Ukraine in the same time period, Ukraine’s air force said. Of these, 48 drones were shot down or jammed, it said.
Ukraine’s Independence Day
The incidents occurred as Ukraine marked its Independence
Day, commemorating its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered remarks in a video address from Kyiv’s Independence Square, emphasising the nation’s resolve.
“We are building a Ukraine that will have enough strength and power to live in security and peace,” Zelenskyy said while calling for a “just peace”.
“What our future will be is up to us alone,” he said in a nod to the United States-Russia summit in Alaska this month, which many feared would leave Ukrainian and European interests sidelined.
“The world knows this. And the world respects this. It respects Ukraine. It perceives Ukraine as an equal,” he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed Zelenskyy for “obstinately insisting, setting conditions, demanding an immediate meeting at all costs” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lavrov also accused Ukrainian authorities of “attempts to disrupt the process that was laid down by Presidents Putin and [Donald] Trump [of the US], which has yielded very good results”.
“We hope that these attempts will be thwarted,” he said, accusing Western countries of trying to “block” peace negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict after a flurry of diplomatic activity appeared to stall.
On Friday, Lavrov said “no meeting” between Zelenskyy and Putin was planned. The Trump administration has been making efforts to organise a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin to find a solution to the war.
Amid the diplomatic efforts, fighting continued on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, where Russia claimed on Saturday that its forces had seized two villages in the Donetsk region.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Kyiv on Sunday morning for meetings with Zelenskyy.
“On this special day – Ukraine’s Independence Day – it is especially important for us to feel the support of our friends, and Canada has always stood by our side,” Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said.
Norway announced significant new military aid on Sunday, pledging about 7 billion kroner ($695m) for air defence systems.
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