Kremlin Accuses Ukraine of Provocation Near Kursk Nuclear Plant

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Friday accused Ukrainian authorities of playing with fire after Russian forces intercepted a Ukrainian drone near the Kursk nuclear plant. Some news outlets reported a fire had broken out several miles away.

“Kyiv is continuing to play with fire, and we will naturally bring this to the attention of the IAEA’s representatives,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referencing the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi on Thursday denied that Ukraine had fired weapons at or near the plant.

Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region in a surprise cross-border incursion on Aug. 6 and remain there, despite efforts by the Russian military to eject them.