Russia claims drone attack on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.

Three drones attempted to attack Kursk Nuclear Power Plant on the evening of Oct.

26, the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom claimed on Oct.

27. "This event did not affect the operation of the station," and there were no casualties or damage, Rosatom said in a statement. Air defense systems in Kursk Oblast intercepted drones multiple times over the evening of Oct.

26, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed. The nuclear power plant is located around 70 kilometers from the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast. Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported in August that Russia is preparing to stage a provocation at the plant involving the evacuation of some of the local population.

The Russian authorities make regular allegations about drone attacks in Kursk Oblast, something that Ukraine does not always claim responsibility for. However, reports emerged in Ukrainian media in September that Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) used a drone to destroy a Russian radar system in Kursk Oblast. The claims of the attack on the nuclear power plant come days after Russian drones hit the area around Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant in western Ukraine, damaging buildings in the plant's premises.

Following the attack on Oct.

25, President Zelensky said that Ukraine will "not only defend" itself but also "respond" to Russia's "terrorist attacks" on critical infrastructure.

Deadly drone arms race intensifies as Ukraine, Russia embrace the future of war At this stage of a war that could last years more, both Ukraine and Russia are getting serious with their drone game: ramping up production while always looking to come up with new innovations.

News Editor

Elsa Court is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post and has a Master's in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University.

Before joining the Kyiv Independent, she worked at the Netherlands Red Cross programme to arrange hosts for Ukrainian refugees and as a freelance writer and editor.

Elsa is originally from the UK and is based in the Netherlands.