On Wednesday Russian officials have alleged that a new massive Ukraine drone attack included an effort to target a nuclear power plant. At least 100 drones were sent from Ukraine overnight against various oil and power facilities in one of the single biggest UAV barrages of the war.
RIA news agency reported that the Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant came under attack. It is the largest power generating plant in Russia's northwest region. State media reports indicate the plant is operating normally in the wake of the assault.
"Air defense systems destroyed a drone attempting to strike a nuclear power facility in the western region of Smolensk bordering Belarus, Governor Vasily Anokhin said on the Telegram messaging app," France24 details.
Authorities say that among the some 104 total drones which attacked Russia, at least 11 inbound UAVs were destroyed over the Smolensk region, the western part of which borders Belarus.
Officials say that at least one of these drones was destroyed by air defense systems as it tried to strike the Smolensk nuclear power complex. "According to preliminary information, one of the drones was shot down during an attempt to attack a nuclear power facility," Governor Vasily Anokhin said on Telegram. "There were no casualties or damage."
Still, if accurate the Ukrainians are really playing with fire here - the kind of fire which could trigger WW3 and far crosses all of Vladimir Putin's red lines.
Since the war's start, most international concern for potential nuclear disaster has centered on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant, as it's basically been in a frontline area of the battle in Ukraine's east. At various points, the Russian forces who hold and oversee it have accused Ukraine of mounting attacks on the site. Each side has in the past accused the other of plotting false flag incidents at the facility, but lately the situation has become relatively stable.
In the recent past, top Russian national security officials have strongly warned that attacks on nuclear facilities could trigger WW3:
Medvedev wrote on Telegram that, if an attack on the NPP "with NATO missiles is confirmed, it will be necessary to look at a scenario of Russia's simultaneous strike" on nuclear sites in Ukraine and facilities in eastern Europe.
However, Alexei Likhachev, director of nuclear power company Rosatom, had insisted on July 14 that "all necessary measures were taken to protect Russian nuclear power plants near the borders with Ukraine" and that the situation was under control.
However, on July 21, a tender went out on the Russian government portal for the installation of the protection measures at the Smolensk NPP. The documents state that the system will have to detect, intercept and jam drone signals, although it did not specify any other technical details. The measures are planned to be up and running by early September.
In this latest Wednesday, attack which elsewhere included drone strikes on oil facilities, Russia is also accusing Kiev of "provocations aimed at creating a threat of man-made disaster" at the Smolensk plant, according to a defense ministry statement.
Already the last several days have witnessed major direct drone hits on some of Russia's largest oil refineries. Russia's Kstovo Refinery is the fourth largest in the country, and widely circulating social media videos show a huge fire there Wednesday.