A fire has been put out at a nuclear power plant in Russia’s western Kursk region and air defences have shot down a Ukrainian drone, Russian officials have said.
The drone detonated when it fell and damaged a transformer, but radiation levels were normal and there were no casualties, a post from the plant’s account on messaging app Telegram said.
It comes as Ukraine is celebrating its independence day on Sunday, which marks the country’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly called on both Russia and Ukraine to show maximum restraint around nuclear facilities in the war.
Ukraine has not commented on the Russian accusation regarding the nuclear site in Kursk, a region where Ukrainian troops briefly invaded in an unexpected military counteroffensive against the Russians last year.
The UK government has announced that Ukrainian flags will appear above Downing Street on Sunday in recognition of the anniversary.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey has said Britain is “ramping up” its support for Ukraine “on this special day for the freedom and democracy of the Ukrainian people”.
The Ministry of Defence has announced that British military experts will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers until at least the end of 2026, with an extension to Operation Interflex.
Operation Interflex is the codename given to the UK Armed Forces’ training programme, which has been created to develop and prepare Ukrainian recruits to fight their country’s Russian invaders.
On Saturday, Russia said its forces in eastern Ukraine seized two villages in the Donetsk region.
Russian forces have been advancing very slowly, and at great cost, in eastern Ukraine and they now control about 20% of Ukraine’s territory.
A full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched by Russia in 2022.
There has been intense diplomacy over the war this month, with US President Donald Trump meeting his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on 15 August.
The summit was billed as a vital step towards peace in Ukraine. However, despite both leaders claiming the talks were a success, Trump has since shown growing frustration publicly over the lack of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump has said he is considering either hitting Russia with further economic sanctions or walking away from peace talks.
“I’m going to make a decision as to what we do and it’s going to be, it’s going to be a very important decision, and that’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say it’s your fight,” Trump said on Friday.
