Russia says it thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack near its Kursk nuclear plant

Russia said on Friday that it had thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack near a nuclear plant in the country's south, where two news outlets said an explosion had damaged the facade of a warehouse storing nuclear waste.  

The defence ministry said air defences foiled "an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack" when they intercepted a drone late on Thursday near the settlement of Kurchatov in the southern region of Kursk.

Kurchatov is the location of the Kursk nuclear power station, which said in a separate statement that an attempt to attack it with not one but three drones had been thwarted.

It said there were no casualties or damage, and that radiation levels were normal and the plant was operating as usual.