Ukrainian drones were targeting the Kursk nuclear power plant, Russian media reported at the beginning of October. But Kremlin officials and military bloggers called such an operation senseless. If it were to happen, it would probably be the most dangerous attack to which the power plant has been exposed since the start of the Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region.
Experts warn: Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant is close to the frontline and will not withstand a possible attack. | Video: Reuters
The Kursk nuclear power plant is located less than thirty kilometers from the current front line near the town of Kurčatov. According to the Russian opposition website Verstka, however, it does not have sufficient protection against direct military strikes. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi, sources close to Rosatom and independent experts are also worried about the plant’s vulnerability.
According to Alexander Nikitin, an adviser to the Bellon Ecological Foundation, during the construction of each nuclear power plant, extraordinary events that could endanger it are expected. In the past, however, military strikes were never counted among them. Nikitin described the current situation as an unprecedented state of emergency.
“No civilian energy infrastructure, be it a nuclear power plant or any other power plant, is designed to withstand the impact of cruise missiles. In particular, the Kursk Power Plant, which was built 40 to 50 years ago using materials and technologies far below today’s standards, ” one of the sources from Rosatom explained to Verstka.
The reactors and spent nuclear fuel stores are relatively secure at the Kursk Power Plant. But part of the spent fuel is stored in cooling pools, which, according to another Rosatom source, are only slightly better protected than reinforced concrete civilian buildings. “Damage to such a facility could lead to an ecological disaster,” the source warned.
Nikitin compared the potential effects of such an incident to a “dirty bomb” where radioactive material is dispersed without causing a nuclear chain reaction. “The reactors at the Kursk Power Plant have relatively weak protection, and if they come under fire, they will not last,” Nikitin warned.
The plant originally operated four RBMK-1000 reactors, which were identical to the reactors at Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear accident. Today only one is in operation, two have been decommissioned and one is undergoing maintenance. In addition, a new power plant is being built next to the old one. But it is already designed to withstand the direct impact of an aircraft.
“We are systematically equipping the facility with detection and anti-drone systems, which have already proven their effectiveness several times. The army is taking all possible measures to prevent attacks by Ukrainian forces,” said one of the sources familiar with Rosatom’s activities regarding the Kursk power plant.
But Nikitin believes that the risk of an accident is potentially more dangerous there than in the larger Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which has been in a combat zone for a long time. “The Zaporozhye power plant is completely ‘cold’, all its reactors are shut down. But one reactor in Kursk is still in operation. And that is alarming,” added Bellona, an advisor to the ecological foundation.
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A cooling tower was on fire at the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia. | Video: Reuters