Drone Strikes Town Hosting Russian Nuclear Power Plant

A suspected Ukrainian drone has damaged a building in the western Russian region of Kursk, according to the regional governor, as the country grapples with an apparent intensification of Kyiv's long-range strike campaign against Russian cities.

Roman Starovoit, the head of the Kursk region, wrote on Telegram on Friday that the town of Kurchatov—which is home to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant around 25 miles west of the city of Kursk—was the subject of a "morning UAV raid."

Initially, Starovoit reported that "Kurchatov was attacked by two Ukrainian drones," causing damage to an "administrative building and residential building." He added: "Experts have arrived at the scene and are assessing the extent of the damage. Details are being specified."

The governor later clarified that only one UAV had attacked the town. "One drone hit a non-residential building [it] was confirmed, the façade was slightly damaged," Starovoit wrote. "There were no casualties. The fall of the second UAV was not confirmed—the flight of the first UAV was mistaken for another one."

It is not clear exactly what the drone's target was or where it landed in the town. The Kursk NPP's Telegram channel said that the facility—located on the western edge of Kurchatov on the Seym River—was "operating normally."

"The radiation background at the Kursk NPP and in the area of its location is at the natural level," the plant wrote on its official channel.

The apparent strike on Kurchatov was part of a fresh wave of UAV attacks on multiple Russian regions on Thursday night. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.

Authorities in Bryansk, Pskov, Belgorod and Moscow regions all reported the downing of drones by Russian air defenses overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses on the southeastern edge of the city "thwarted another attempt to fly a drone to Moscow."

"There were no casualties or damage, according to initial reports. Emergency services are on the scene," Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

Simultaneous drone bombardments against multiple cities have become commonplace in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Mykhailo Podolyak—an adviser to the head of Ukraine's presidential office—said: "The war is increasingly moving to Russia's territory, and it cannot be stopped."

His remarks echoed those of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said last month: "Ukraine is getting stronger, and the war is gradually returning to Russia's territory, to its symbolic centers and military bases. This is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair."