Russia Runs Large-Scale Nuclear Emergency Drill at Beloyarsk Plant

Russia's Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in the Sverdlovsk region launched a two-day emergency preparedness exercise on Tuesday involving more than 1,000 participants. Organizers describe it as the largest such drill in the country's nuclear sector this year.

The scenario combines a natural disaster with simultaneous failures of safety systems at two reactors. Plant representatives confirmed the reactors will keep operating normally throughout the exercise. Management has urged nearby residents to stay calm, noting the drill may involve sirens and loudspeaker announcements.

On Wednesday, the exercise expands to the nearby town of Zarechny, where emergency services will rehearse responding to a simulated nuclear accident. Teams in protective gear will use fire engines and military vehicles to clear debris, put out simulated fires, and set up decontamination stations, while also practicing sheltering and evacuating residents.

The drill belongs to an annual rotation in which different Russian nuclear facilities take turns hosting large-scale exercises. Officials said the scenario deliberately combines several unlikely events to stress-test emergency readiness. Russian regulations require nuclear operators to hold such exercises at least once a year, a practice aligned with International Atomic Energy Agency guidance on testing coordination between plant staff and outside responders.

Participants include plant employees, specialists from operator Rosenergoatom and state nuclear corporation Rosatom, rescue workers, police, medical personnel, local officials, and military radiation, chemical and biological defense units. Observers from Belarus and Kazakhstan are also taking part.

Beloyarsk supplies roughly 16% of the Sverdlovsk region's electricity and runs two fast-neutron reactors — a BN-600 unit that began operating in 1980 and a BN-800 unit that started in 2015.

The exercise takes place against a backdrop of reported drone strikes on Russian nuclear infrastructure elsewhere, with Rosatom saying drones hit cooling towers at the Kursk II plant twice this year. The company stated neither strike affected plant operations or radiation levels.