Ukraine drone attacks Russia’s Kursk nuclear plant, as it mark its 34th Independence Day

Ukrainian drone attacks overnight on several Russia’s power and energy facilities forced capacity reduction at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant and set a fuel export terminal in Ust-Luga on fire as it mark its 34th Independence Day on Sunday.

A drone attack on the Kursk nuclear plant, not far from the border with Ukraine, damaged an auxiliary transformer and led to 50% reduction in the operating capacity at unit three of the plant, the plant’s press service said.

There were no injuries and a fire sparked by the attack was promptly extinguished, the plant’s press service said. Radiation levels at the site and in the surrounding area have not exceeded normal limits, it added.

About 10 Ukrainian drones were downed over the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s northern Leningrad region, with debris sparking fire at the Novatek-operated terminal – a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal and processing complex, regional governor said.

“Firefighters and emergency services are currently working to extinguish the blaze,” Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Russia’s Leningrad region where the Ust-Luga port is located, said on the Telegram messaging app. There were no injuries, he added.

According to Novatek NVTK.MM, the Ust-Luga complex, which opened in 2013, processes gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil and gasoil, and enables the company to ship oil products as well as gas condensate to international markets.

Russian units destroyed a total of 95 Ukrainian drones overnight over 13 regions, including Leningrad and Samara, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, the defence ministry said.

Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, said flights were halted for hours on end at several Russian airports overnight, including at the Pulkovo airport in the Leningrad region.

Ukrainian drones also attacked an industrial enterprise in the southern Russian city of Syzran, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of the Samara region where Syzran is located, posted on Telegram, adding there were no casualties.

He did not say what the targets were or whether there was any damage.

Earlier this month, the Ukrainian military said it had struck the Syzran oil refinery. The Rosneft-owned ROSN.MM refinery was forced to suspend production and crude intake after the attack, sources told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has said its strikes inside Russia are in response to Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine and are aimed at destroying infrastructure deemed crucial to Moscow’s overall military efforts.

Russia and Ukraine each send back 146 POWs: Moscow

Russia and Ukraine each sent back 146 prisoners of war on Aug. 24, Moscow's defense ministry said, the latest in a series of exchanges that has seen hundreds of POWs released this year.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia's offensive began in 2022.

"On Aug. 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled" by Kiev, the Russian defense ministry said on Telegram.

"In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred" to Ukraine, it added.

Russia also said that "eight citizens of the Russian Federation, residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained" by Kiev were also returned as part of the exchange.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometers of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack, but did not fully reclaim control of the region until April.