ISTANBUL 

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday claimed Ukraine tried to strike the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant situated in the border region of the same name, where Kyiv launched an incursion over two weeks ago.

“The enemy tried to strike the (Kursk) nuclear power plant last night,” Putin told a meeting in the capital Moscow on the situation in the border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk.

Expressing that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had been informed of the situation, Putin said the IAEA promised to send specialists to assess the situation at the plant.

During the same meeting, acting Kursk Governor Alexey Smirnov said the situation at the plant was stable.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry claimed that it intercepted a Ukrainian drone over the Kursk region during an overnight attack.

Ukrainian authorities have yet to comment on either claim.

The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is located almost 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) from the Ukrainian border. 


Evacuation


Smirnov also talked about the general situation in his region, saying that over 133,000 people have left eight districts where evacuations are underway.

"According to the decision of the operational headquarters, eight districts of the Kursk region with a population of 152,566 people were included in the resettlement and evacuation zone. As of today, 133,190 people have left. 19,376 people remain," he added.

The acting governor said that they are continuing to resettle people to safer places, further expressing that people are being placed in temporary accommodation centers.


He also said that a total of 524 temporary accommodation camps capable of hosting 64,000 people have been deployed.

Meanwhile, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov also said at the meeting that temporary accommodation and food centers have been “opened in 29 (federal) subjects with a significant reserve of places."

Manturov further said that the government has prepared decisions to allocate an additional 1.9 billion Russian rubles ($20.6 million) to Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry to keep such services functional.