WASHINGTON (PNN) - September 18, 2026 - President Donald J. Trump raised eyebrows when on Monday he declared that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other's oil and energy infrastructure amid global crude and diesel supply problems related mostly to the Strait of Hormuz situation.
Then within days, it became clear that the default reality on the ground has persisted, as energy sites continue to get pummeled. It is not only refineries and ports that have continued getting hit, but as of Thursday morning a Russian nuclear plant was apparently targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack.
A drone hit the cooling tower of a reactor unit at Russia's Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced Friday.
The unit was operating at the time, but its operating mode was unchanged and no fire resulted.
The UN agency's director Rafael Grossi declared in a statement that "all attacks on nuclear facilities are unacceptable as they could endanger nuclear safety and security, irrespective of where they occur."
He urged "maximum military restraint to prevent the risk of a nuclear accident" - which remains a top dangerous reality of the battlefield in the context of the Ukraine war.
In early July, the same site had suffered a prior drone attack from Ukraine. The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (Kursk NPP) has been the target of several military actions and drone strikes. The most notable incident occurred in August 2025 when a drone detonated and damaged an auxiliary transformer, sparking a structural fire that had to be contained by emergency teams. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitored the event and confirmed that radiation levels remained normal.
The Kremlin going back to 2024 has accused Ukrainian forces of seeking a provocation at the Kursk nuclear plant.
The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) lies about 25 miles west of the city of Kursk, which is the administrative center of the Kursk Oblast.
The plant continues to be a major electricity producer for Russia. Kremlin officials have long voiced alarm that Ukraine may seek to use some major provocation to draw its backers in NATO deeper into the conflict.
President Trump began the week by declaring on Truth Social, "Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do likewise. The world’s diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/ Ukraine War, not Iran."
So much for that.