Russia is preparing to defend the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant as Ukrainian troops are approaching it, the independent Russian news outlet IStories reported on Aug. 9.
The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is located nearly 80 kilometers (49 miles) from the town of Sudzha in Kursk Oblast.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian forces were fighting Ukrainian soldiers on the western outskirts of the town of Sudzha as Kyiv's incursion continues into the fourth day.
The entrances to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant were blocked as of the afternoon of Aug. 9, the pro-government regional newspaper network Bloknot claimed, citing its undisclosed sources.
Everything at the nuclear power plant's units under construction has been de-energized, and construction workers have left the site, according to Bloknot.
Kateryna Hodunova
Earlier, all male security personnel were withdrawn from the plant, leaving only female officers of the Russian National Guard, known as Rosgvardia. Following this move, Rosgvardia said it was "strengthening security at the plant," IStories said.
Male officers of the Rosgvardia later returned to duty, an employee of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant told IStories on Aug. 9 on condition of anonymity.
The management recommended that the plant's employees take vacations at their own expense and evacuate their children, the source told IStories.
According to the Russian media outlet, workers who live in the neighboring town of Kurchatov have been leaving the plant's construction site since Aug. 7.
Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear energy company, also confirmed that it had reduced the number of construction workers at the power plant.
The management does not provide the personnel with any instructions on the plan of action in case of a strike on the plant, while employees work in bunkers with thick walls, IStories reported, citing one of the plant's workers.
Fighting is taking place "a few dozen kilometers" from Kurchatov in Kursk Oblast, the town's mayor, Igor Korpunkov, has claimed. The town is located some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Ukraine's Sumy Oblast and hosts the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Kursk Oblast lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022.
Kyiv has so far maintained a policy of silence, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 8 that "Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done." He did not directly mention the incursion into Kursk Oblast.
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
