In another dangerous escalation, Russia has accused Ukraine of launching a drone strike on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, which sparked a fire and damaged an auxiliary transformer, resulting in a 50% reduction in the output of reactor number three.

Several other energy facilities were also reportedly targeted during the overnight strikes, involving likely hundreds of drones. Russia's military said that it intercepted nearly one hundred of them across various locations in the south.

Kursk Nuclear Power Plant's news service reported that the fire was quickly brought under control and with no injuries. Radiation levels remained normal, according to local reports.

However, the press service also noted that two other reactors are currently not generating power, though one of them is undergoing scheduled maintenance. Reuters additionally details, "Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russia on Sunday, forcing a sharp fall in the capacity of a reactor at one of Russia's biggest nuclear power plants and sparking a huge blaze at the major Ust-Luga fuel export terminal, Russian officials said."

Kursk region's acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, swiftly condemned the "threat to nuclear safety and a violation of all international conventions." The site lies some 40 miles from the Ukrainian border.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) weighed in on the Sunday attack, saying the agency is monitoring the situation and that radiation levels around the Kursk plant remain normal.

The IAEA statement, however, did not mention expressly that the damage was due to a Ukrainian drone attack. It only said it "is aware of media reports that a transformer at the Kursk NPP in Russia has caught fire due to military activity. While the IAEA has no independent confirmation of these reports, [Director General] Rafael Grossi stresses that ‘every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.'"

In a separate incident, a fire broke out at the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad region, where a major fuel export terminal is located - after some 10 Ukrainian drones that were shot down in the area, resulting in dangerous falling debris.

The war on energy sites continues on, and is growing. Ukraine, in mounting such a brazen attack, is clearly trying to up its leverage - though as President Trump has previously stated, it's Russia that still holds all the cards.

All of this illustrates that Trump has been wise to block Ukraine's military from using American missiles for long-range attacks on Russian territory.

Fresh reporting in The Wall Street Journal has said that Washington is not allowing Ukraine to use US ATACMS missiles for such attacks, and that this prohibition has been on for at least several months.

 "President Trump has been very clear that the war in Ukraine needs to end. White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told the newspaper. "Secretary Hegseth is working in lockstep with President Trump," she noted. According to the report: 

The Pentagon has for months been blocking Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, U.S. officials said, limiting Kyiv from employing a powerful weapon in its fight against Moscow’s invasion.

A high-level Defense Department approval procedure, which hasn’t been announced, has prevented Ukraine from firing any U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or Atacms, against targets in Russia since late spring, the officials said. On at least one occasion, Ukraine sought to use Atacms against a target on Russian territory but was rejected, two officials said.

"Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, developed the ‘review mechanism’ to decide" on Ukraine’s repeat requests for permission to use long-range weapons made by the US and the ones provided by Western allies and depending on American intelligence and components, WSJ noted.

So the Trump administration exercises effective veto over this - but it's still a very dangerous situation, and it doesn't mean the scenario hasn't been ruled out.

Trump hopes that in blocking this option, Putin can still be wooed to the peace table to find settlement - but the reality remains that Washington should have never handed these weapons to Kiev in the first place, approved under the Biden administration - though the program and transfers have continued under Trump. The president plans to make a major decision in two weeks time - though we doubt peace talks will have progressed much by that point.