DISINFO: The US, UK behind Ukraine’s attack on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant
SUMMARY
The decision to attack the Kursk NPP by the Ukrainian Armed Forces was made not by Ukraine, but by the West, in particular, the US and the UK.
RESPONSE
This narrative is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign about nuclear threats, linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and recent developments in the Ukrainian advance into Kursk Oblast in August 2024. There are no independent confirmations that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to attack the Kursk NPP. These accusations against Ukraine, as well as against the US and UK, aim to distract from the Kremlin’s own nuclear blackmail tactics, including threats to use tactical nuclear weapons and plans to provoke a nuclear disaster at Russian-controlled power plants.
Moreover, it is Russia, not Ukraine, that has seized another country's nuclear facility and is using the Zaporizhzhia NPP to conduct hostilities against Ukraine. In April, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell stressed that the drone attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant increases the risk of a nuclear accident and that Russia should withdraw from there.
IAEA head Rafael Grossi also gave a statement on 23 August 2024 regarding the deteriorating security situation at the Zaporizhzhya NPP, which is currently under Russian control. Rafael Grossi mentioned that on August 23, 2024, an emergency shutdown occurred in the Ferosplavna-1 backup power line. He emphasised that the plant is situated on the front line and is subject to shelling, which has left the NPP without a stable source of electricity. He emphasised that five safety principles must be strictly observed at the plant, which is currently under Russian control.
Russia has adopted many reckless actions regarding this facility, including placing military equipment and troops inside its premises, using its surroundings as a base for rocket and missile attacks, and interrupting its power line. In addition, Russia rejected UN proposals to demilitarise the areas surrounding the plant, as it was deliberately waging a fear campaign about the risks of a nuclear disaster in order to advance its goals in Ukraine.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Ukraine tried to attack Kursk NPP with a kamikaze drone, that Kyiv plans to strike nuclear power plants in Zaporizhzhia and Kursk to blame Russia, that Kyiv is preparing a "dirty bomb" near Zaporizhzhia and Kursk nuclear power plants, that Neo-Nazis in Kyiv plan to attack the Kursk nuclear plant with support of Western intelligence, that Ukraine intends to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant, that Ukraine attacks Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to blackmail Europe with a new Chernobyl, or that the US wants to prepare the world for a provocation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.