Ukraine claims it downed Russian drone near Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine said Thursday that a Russian drone landed near the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant -- one of four that operates in the war-torn country.

Khmelnytskyi Gov. Serhiy Tiurin said on Telegram that the attack drone was downed by Ukraine’s air defenses during a Russian overnight attack.

“This is not the first time that Russia deliberately lays out the routes of missiles and attack drones so that they pass, in particular, over the nuclear facilities of Ukraine,” said Tiurin.

Earlier, Tiurin claimed that 11 Russian drones were downed above the western region.

Ukraine’s Air Force also claimed that its air defenses downed 44 of 64 drones launched by Russia during the overnight attack.

It said aside from the Khmelnytskyi region, Ukrainian air defenses have been working in the Kyiv, Kherson, Cherkasy, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia and Poltava regions.

Ukraine's Energy Ministry said the agency informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the coordinating council of EU energy ministers about the attack.

Russia has not commented on the claims.​​​​​​​