Kursk authorities restrict access to Kurchatov amid ongoing attacks on nuclear power plant

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are not giving up their attempts to break into Kurchatov — the satellite town of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, Acting Governor of the Kursk region Alexey Smirnov said on Telegram.

According to Smirnov, the local authorities have ensured maximum protection for the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. However, the operational headquarters of the counter-terrorist operation decided to restrict entry to Kurchatov for security purposes. Checkpoints will be arranged for the purpose.

Locals registered in Kurchatov will be able to enter the town freely, but all others will have to obtain entry passes from the local administration and their representatives at checkpoints.

Details

The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is one of the three biggest nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Russia and one of the four biggest electricity producers in the country. It is located on the bank of the Seym River about 40 kilometers west of the city of Kursk, midway between it and the town of Lgov, in western Russia. The nearby city of Kurchatov was founded when construction of the plant began. The plant feeds the grid for Kursk Oblast and 19 other regions. As of 2024, the site houses two active reactors and two decommissioned older units. It also houses the partially built Kursk 5 and Kursk 6 units which had construction halted, and two new VVER designs (Kursk II-1 and Kursk II-2) are under construction. The International Atomic Energy Agency's Director General Rafael Grossi urged both Russia and Ukraine to exercise "maximum restraint" to avoid an accident at the plant during the August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion following reports of "significant military activity" near the facility.