Mapping Russia’s Kursk Nuclear Power Plant: Key Details and Strategic Importance

A detailed look at Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant, highlighting its location, strategic significance, and the key features of one of the country’s major energy infrastructures.

Last week, Russia reported an attack on the Kursk nuclear power station. As a result, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is currently visiting the site.

Grossi announced on Monday through a post on X that he would personally lead the @IAEAorg mission to Russia’s Kursk Nuclear Power Plant tomorrow due to the critical state of affairs.

On Friday, Ukraine was accused by Russia of attempting to carry out an act of “nuclear terrorism” with an attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant overnight.

The accusations have not received a response from Ukraine.

Since August 6 when Russian troops advanced in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces responded by launching a surprise incursion on the Kursk region of western Russia where fierce fighting has been taking place. It’s worth noting that this is also where the nuclear plant is located.

According to a statement by the IAEA, Russia has reported the discovery of drone debris near the nuclear power plant. The remains were found approximately 328 feet away from the facility’s spent fuel storage unit.

So far, Ukraine has calculated that it acquired 1,263 square kilometers (488 square miles) of land from Russia.

Two additional settlements were taken control of by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s forces in the Kursk region on Sunday, with a gain of up to three kilometres (1.86 miles) reported.

As the fighting intensifies, worries have escalated over allegations of a drone strike on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The incident has arisen mere weeks after the Sudzha conflict, which sparked concerns owing to its impact on Russia’s sole gas pumping station feeding Europe via Ukraine.

Can you provide information on the locations of Russia’s nuclear sites?

Russia has 37 nuclear reactors in operation at 11 nuclear power plants, with the Kursk plant being one of the three largest facilities situated approximately 100km (62 miles) away from Ukraine’s border.

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The Kursk nuclear power plant is located merely 40km (25 miles) from the recent battle zone. It comprises four Soviet RBMK-1000 reactors, identical in design to those at Chernobyl which suffered a catastrophic accident that led to the world’s worst civilian nuclear disaster back in 1986. The two operational reactors – numbered as three and four- produce around ninety percent of energy generated by the entire region of Kursk.

During Grossi’s visit, the IAEA will examine and appraise the site to gauge both nuclear safety and security conditions at the power plant.

Grossi stated on Thursday that the presence of military operations near a nuclear power plant poses a grave danger to its safety and security. He added that his upcoming trip to KNPP would enable him to evaluate the situation objectively in a timely manner.

The Kursk-2 power plant is currently being constructed using advanced VVER-510 reactors, with work commencing in 2018. However, the two reactors are yet to become functional.

What are the locations of nuclear sites in Ukraine?

There are a total of 15 nuclear reactors in Ukraine located within four different NPPs. The Zaporizhzhia plant happens to generate almost half of the power produced by all Ukrainian NPP facilities, which equates to about one-fifth or 20% of their yearly electricity output.

Ever since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, worries about Zaporizhzhia NPP have remained persistent. This nuclear power plant is situated in southern Ukraine’s steppe near the Dnipro River and lies approximately 550km (342 miles) southeast of Kyiv- it was taken over by Russian troops in March 2022.

The safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear sites are under continuous monitoring by the staff of IAEA.

To what extent do Ukraine and Russia depend on nuclear energy?

By the year 2023, nuclear power contributed over half (50.7 percent) of Ukraine’s electricity generation while coal followed at a distant second with 20.9 percent allocation. Other sources that made up a significant portion were hydropower accounting for roughly 12.3 percent and gas approximately amounted to only about 7.8 per cent contribution towards electricity production in the country during that period .

Gas accounted for 45 percent of Russia’s electricity in 2023, whereas nuclear power only contributed to 18.4 percent of its total electricity generation.

According to Christoph Halser, a Rystad Energy analyst based in Oslo, Russia has dropped from being responsible for 38% of total European natural gas imports in 2021 to only having a share of 15% by the year 2023. Nevertheless, it remains the second-largest natural gas exporter globally.

Despite the ongoing conflict with Russia, Kyiv has made no interruptions to the flow of gas through its Soviet-era pipeline.