Russian Defense Contracts Reveal Fears of Nuclear Plant Attack on Home Soil
Moscow is earmarking millions of dollars to protect a nuclear power plant (NPP) on Russian territory near Ukraine from drone attacks, it has been reported.
A department in Russia's state nuclear-power company Rosatom allocated 348 million rubles ($3.87 million) for an anti-drone system at the Smolensk NPP. The plant is located around 120 miles from Russia's border with Ukraine, Russian news outlet Vyortska reported.
Concerns about drones striking the nuclear power plant have been growing in Russia amid Telegram reports that Ukrainian troops had tried to stage a missile attack on the site. Earlier this month, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, warned about how Moscow might respond should the facility be struck.
A view of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine in this illustrative image taken on June 14, 2023. Moscow authorities are reportedly spending millions of dollars on protective measures for a nuclear plant in Smolensk. OLGA MALTSEVA/Getty Images
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.
The contractor will be the Special Technology Center company, which manufactures Orlan drones that Moscow uses in the war in Ukraine.
The nuclear plant said this month on its Telegram channel that its two power units are operating routinely, while the third unit is under scheduled repairs. Newsweek has emailed Rosatom for comment.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP in Ukraine's south was seized by Moscow at the start of the war. The plant has been the focal point of international concerns that the war in Ukraine could take on a nuclear dimension.
Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of shelling around the station, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is trying to set up safety measures to prevent accidents.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Russia may be planning to stage an attack at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. He added that Moscow's troops have planted explosives on the roofs of buildings at the site.
IAEA inspectors said there were mines in a buffer zone between the site's internal and external perimeter barriers, Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, said on Monday.
Source: Newsweek
