Drone strikes cooling tower at Russia's Kursk Nuclear Plant, IAEA confirms

The cooling tower of a reactor unit of Russia's Kursk Nuclear Power Plant was attacked by a drone early on Thursday (September 17), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, adding that no fire erupted and the unit continued operating as earlier. The IAEA confirmed information about the operation of the reactor unit after the cooling tower was attacked. In contrast, the agency did not report any change in the unit's operating mode after the incident.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi desacrbed strikes on nuclear facilities as unacceptable and urged all sides to execrcise maximum military restraint near nuclear sites to minisme the risk of a nuclear accident.

A cooling tower forms part of a nuclear power plant's heat-removal system but is a separate structure from the reactor itself. In this instance, the IAEA noted that the affected unit continued to function normally even after being struck by the drone.

The agency has consistently cautioned that military activity in the vicinity of nuclear facilities carries potential risks to nuclear safety and security. Situated in Russia's Kursk region, which shares a border with Ukraine, the Kursk nuclear power plant has repeatedly come under the shadow of fighting during the Russia-Ukraine war. According to a Russian media report, Russian air defence systems intercepted and downed a Ukrainian combat drone near the plant in August 2025.