A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. (Reuters)Russia-Ukraine War Highlights: Authorities began distributing iodine tablets to residents near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Friday in case of a radiation leak, amid mounting fears that the fighting around the complex could trigger a catastrophe. Iodine tablets, which help block the absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland in a nuclear accident, were issued in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, about 45 kilometers (27 miles) from the plant.
The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant resumed electricity supplies to Ukraine on Friday after one of its six reactors was reconnected to the Ukrainian grid, state nuclear company Energoatom said. The nuclear power plant, located in southern Ukraine, was disconnected from the Ukrainian grid for the first time in its history on Thursday after a fire caused by shelling damaged a power line, Kyiv said earlier.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster as electricity to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was cut for hours due to Russian shelling in the area, allegations that Moscow denied. Zelenskyy said Russian shelling on Thursday sparked fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe’s largest such facility, from the power grid.
Members of the Honour Guard attend a rising ceremony of the Ukraine's biggest national flag to mark the Day of the State Flag, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv. (Reuters)
Authorities began distributing iodine tablets to residents near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Friday in case of a radiation leak, amid mounting fears that the fighting around the complex could trigger a catastrophe.
The move came a day after the plant was temporarily knocked offline because of what officials said was fire damage to a transmission line. Continued shelling was reported in the area overnight, and satellite images from Planet Labs showed fires burning around the complex — Europe's biggest nuclear plant — over the last several days.
Iodine tablets, which help block the absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland in a nuclear accident, were issued in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, about 45 kilometers (27 miles) from the plant. (AP)
The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant resumed electricity supplies to Ukraine on Friday after one of its six reactors was reconnected to the Ukrainian grid, state nuclear company Energoatom said.
Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which is located in southern Ukraine, was disconnected from the Ukrainian grid for the first time in its history on Thursday after a fire caused by shelling damaged a power line, Kyiv said earlier.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February, took control of the nuclear plant in March, though it is still operated by Ukrainian technicians working for Energoatom. The nuclear plant supplied more than 20% of Ukraine's electricity needs before the war and its loss would pile new strain on the government, which is already bracing for a difficult wartime winter of potentially crippling energy shortages. (Reuters)
All six reactors of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine are still disconnected from Ukraine's electricity grid, state nuclear company Energoatom said, a day after nearby fires allegedly caused by shelling caused the plant to go offline.
However, the company said there were currently no issues with the plant's machinery or its safety systems.
Energoatom said electricity for the plant's own needs was currently being supplied through a power line from Ukraine's electricity system, and that work was ongoing to restore grid connection to the plant's two functioning reactors. (Reuters)
Officials from Turkey, Finland and Sweden were expected to meet at an undisclosed location in Finland on Friday to discuss security concerns that Turkey raised as a precondition for allowing the two Nordic countries to join the NATO military alliance.
Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said earlier the first meeting between officials would aim to establish contacts and set goals for cooperation that the three countries agreed to by signing a memorandum of understanding at NATO's Madrid summit at the end of June.
The two Nordic countries applied for NATO membership in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but were faced with opposition from Turkey which accused them of imposing arms embargoes on Ankara and supporting groups it deems terrorists. (Reuters)
Ukraine's Energoatom said Friday that all six blocks of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remain disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid.
It said that power is being supplied to the plant through a repaired line supplying electricity from Ukraine's energy system. (Reuters)
As 191 countries approach Friday’s end to a four-week conference to review the landmark UN treaty aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear weapons, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and takeover of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and rivalries between the West and China were posing key obstacles to agreement on a final document.
Argentine Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen, president of the conference reviewing the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which is considered the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament, circulated a 35-page draft final document on Thursday. After listening to objections from countries at a closed-door session, diplomats said he was planning to revise the document for a final closed-door discussion Friday morning, ahead of an open meeting in the afternoon to end the conference.
Any document must be approved by all parties to the treaty and it’s uncertain whether an agreement will be reached before the conference ends. (AP)
?? Russia's defence ministry said it had destroyed eight Ukrainian warplanes in strikes at air bases in Ukraine's Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions. That would be one of the heaviest losses for Ukraine's air force in recent weeks.
?? As the war entered its seventh month, Russia said its forces had struck a railway station in eastern Ukraine the previous day, confirming an attack which Kyiv says also hit a residential area and killed 25 civilians as the nation marked its Independence Day.
?? The Russian Defence Ministry said an Iskander missile had hit a military train at Chaplyne station that had been set to deliver arms to Ukrainian forces on frontlines in the eastern Donbas region.
?? Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to increase the size of Russia's armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million as the war in Ukraine enters its seventh month. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster as electricity to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was cut for hours due to Russian shelling in the area, allegations that Moscow denied.
Zelenskyy said Russian shelling on Thursday sparked fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe's largest such facility, from the power grid.
Back-up diesel generators ensured power supply that is vital for cooling and safety systems at the plant, he said, praising the Ukrainian technicians who operate the plant under the gaze of the Russian military. (Reuters)
Ukrainians are once again anxious about the fate of a nuclear power plant in a land that was home to the world’s worst atomic accident in 1986 at Chernobyl — and alarm only increased Thursday when the plant operator said the facility has been cut off from the electrical grid.
A Russian serviceman guards an area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in territory under Russian military control, southeastern Ukraine, May 1, 2022. (AP)
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest, has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of the war, and continued fighting near the facility has heightened fears of a catastrophe that could affect nearby towns in southern Ukraine — or potentially an even wider region. On Thursday, the plant was cut off from the power grid for the first time after fires damaged the only working transmission line, according to Ukraine’s nuclear power operator. (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday to increase the size of Russia's armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million as the war in Ukraine enters its seventh month.
Moscow has not revealed any losses in the conflict since its first weeks, but Western officials and the Kyiv government say they number in the thousands.
The increase includes a 137,000 boost in the number of combat personnel to 1.15 million. It comes into effect on Jan 1, according to the decree published on the government's legislative portal. (Reuters)
The death toll from a Russian rocket attack as Ukraine observed its Independence Day has risen to 25, including an 11-year-old boy found under the rubble of a house and a 6-year-old killed in a car fire near a train station that took a hit, a Ukrainian official said Thursday.The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, provided the updated casualty figures from Wednesday's attack. A total of 31 people sustained injuries, he said.
People stand next to a residential house destroyed by a Russian military strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Chaplyne, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine August 24, 2022. (Reuters)
The lethal strike on the train station took place in Chaplyne, a town of about 3,500 people in the central Dnipropetrovsk region. It came after warnings from President Volodymyr Zelensky that Moscow might attempt “something particularly cruel” this week as Ukraine marked both Independence Day and the six-month point of Russia's invasion on Wednesday. (AP)
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt armed attacks on Ukraine and said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant must be demilitarized.
"The international community must insist on documentation" to be able to one day prove war crimes, added Bachelet in a speech on Thursday marking the end of her term as the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights. (Reuters)
India for the first time on Wednesday voted against Russia during a “procedural vote” at the United Nations Security Council on Ukraine, as the 15-member powerful UN body invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address a meeting through a video tele-conference.#IndiainUNSCud83dudcfaWatch: Ambassador @RuchiraKamboj, Permanent Representative speak at the #UNSC Briefing on #Ukraine@MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/EBNuDjXtEi— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) August 24, 2022This is for the first time that India has voted against Russia on the issue of Ukraine, after the Russian military action began in February. So far, New Delhi has abstained at the UN Security Council on Ukraine, much to the annoyance of the Western powers led by the United States. Western nations, including the US, have imposed major economic and other sanctions on Russia following the aggression. (Read more)
Six months into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the war has upended fundamental assumptions about Russia’s military and economy.
When the US warned of impending war earlier this year, officials and analysts in Washington and Europe alike assumed Russia’s much larger and better equipped military would quickly dominate Ukraine’s forces. They also believed Putin would find himself constrained by a weak domestic economy.
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley even warned Congress that Kyiv could fall within 72 hours of an invasion being launched. (Read more)
?? Ukraine will never give up its fight for freedom from Russia's domination, Zelenskyy said in emotional speech on the Aug. 24 public holiday.
?? He said Ukraine would recapture its annexed peninsula of Crimea from Russia by any means.
?? On a surprise visit to the capital Kyiv, British Prime Minister Johnson lauded Ukraine for its "indomitable" resistance in six months of war and said now was not the time to promote a "flimsy plan for negotiation" with Moscow.
?? Kyiv banned public celebrations of the national holiday and the cities of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv also imposed restrictions for fear of Russian attacks. (Reuters)
A Russian missile attack killed 22 civilians and set a passenger train on fire in eastern Ukraine as the country marked its Independence Day under heavy shelling, officials in Kyiv said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned of the risk of “repugnant Russian provocations” ahead of the 31st anniversary on Wednesday of Ukraine’s independence from Moscow-dominated Soviet rule, and public celebrations were cancelled. (Read more)
US President Joe Biden will call Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday says White House National Security spokesperson.
Ukraine's top military intelligence official said on Wednesday that Russia's military offensive was slowing because of moral and physical fatigue in their ranks and Moscow's "exhausted" resource base.
The remark on television by Defence Intelligence agency chief Kyrylo Budanov was one of the strongest signals by Kyiv that it believes Russia's offensive power may be waning.
"Russia has rather seriously slowed down the tempo of its assault. The reason for this is the exhaustion of their resource base, as well as a moral and physical fatigue from the fighting," he said.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier that Moscow had deliberately slowed down its campaign in Ukraine, something he said had been driven by the need to reduce civilian casualties. (Reuters)
European Union defence ministers will discuss options to set up a military training mission for Ukrainian forces at an Aug. 29-30 meeting in Prague, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Wednesday.
"As EU, we have to see what else we can do in terms of support to Ukraine and increasing the cost of this war for Russia," Josep Borrell said in a blog to mark Ukraine's independence day, six months after Russia invaded the country.
"We will discuss this ... in Prague next week, including on the issue of visas for Russian citizens and a possible EU training mission for Ukrainian armed forces."
Borrell referred to the idea of an EU military training programme at a conference in Spain on Monday, explaining that it would not be based in Ukraine, but in neighbouring countries. (Reuters)
Russia has launched missiles at a railroad station in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a Ukraine-focused meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.
"This is our life every day. This is how Russia got prepared for this UN session," Zelenskiy said over video link. There were deaths and injuries in the missile strikes, Zelenskiy said, warning that the death toll could rise. (Reuters)
Ukraine nervously braced for what President Volodymr Zelenskyy warned could be especially brutal Russian attacks Wednesday as the country observed its Independence Day — and marked the war's six-month point — under conditions considered too dangerous to allow any major public celebrations in the capital.
Residents of Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens, but there were no immediate airstrikes. The capital has been largely spared from attack in recent months, as a war that was widely expected to be a lightning conquest by Moscow turned into a grinding conflict fought largely in the east and south.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson marked the holiday with a visit to Kyiv — his third since the war started — and other European leaders used the occasion to pledge unwavering support for the country and pay tribute to the sacrifices of its people. (AP)
The Ukrainian winners of this year's Eurovision Song Contest on Wednesday launched a 24-hour fundraiser on behalf of soldiers who defended a besieged steel plant, as the country marked 31 years of independence and six months of war.
In a video posted on Instagram, Kalush Orchestra called on Ukrainians to donate 24 hryvnia (65 cents) each over 24 hours for those who fought on the frontlines at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. "We are opening donations for wounded fighters from Azovstal," the band said.
"This money will help our heroes become healthy and strong again," the group added in a caption translated into English, also congratulating Ukrainians on the country's Independence Day.
Mariupol was under siege for months. Fighters from the Azov Regiment, a unit of the national guard, fought for weeks from bunkers and tunnels below the steelworks before many surrendered in May. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Wednesday to mark the country's independence day, promising a further package of military support to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
The 54 million pound ($63.5 million) package will include 2,000 drones and loitering munitions to enable the Ukrainian military to better track and target invading Russian forces, Johnson's office said in a statement.
"The UK will continue to stand with our Ukrainian friends. I believe Ukraine can and will win this war," Johnson, who has less than two weeks left as prime minister, said on Twitter. (Reuters)
Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican on Wednesday criticised Pope Francis for referring to Darya Dugina, daughter of a prominent Russian ultra-nationalist, who was killed by a car bomb near Moscow, as an innocent victim of war.
It is highly unusual for ambassadors to the Vatican to criticise the pope publicly.
"Innocents pay for war," Francis said earlier at his Wednesday general audience in a sentence where he referred to "that poor girl thrown in the air by a bomb under the seat of a car in Moscow". Russia blamed the killing on Ukrainian agents, a charge Kyiv denies.
Alexander Dugin, Darya's father, has long advocated the unification of Russian-speaking and other territories in a new Russian empire that would include Ukraine. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden marked Ukraine's Independence Day on Wednesday with a new security assistance package of about $3 billion in military aid for Kyiv in its war with Russia.
It is the single largest tranche of support for Kyiv since Russia's invasion six months ago, and it comes as US officials warn that Russia appears to be planning to launch fresh attacks against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities in coming days.
"The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty," Biden said in a statement announcing the package.
In total, the United States has committed approximately $10.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration. (Reuters)
Residents of Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens as Ukraine observed its Independence Day on Wednesday, which also marked exactly six months since the start of Russia's military invasion.
Authorities in the capital banned large-scale gatherings until Thursday, fearing the national holiday might bring particularly heavy Russian missile attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the public to be vigilant. “Russian provocations and brutal strikes are a possibility,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “Please strictly follow the safety rules. Please observe the curfew. Pay attention to the air sirens. Pay attention to official announcements. And remember: We must all achieve victory together.”
Last year, crowds turned out in Kyiv to watch a military parade marking Ukraine's 30-year independence anniversary. But this year, just a small number of residents gathered at Kyiv's central square, where destroyed Russian tanks and mobile artillery were put on display over the weekend, and the national anthem is played every day at 7 am. (AP)
Cold winters helped Moscow defeat Napoleon and Hitler. President Vladimir Putin is now betting that sky-rocketing energy prices and possible shortages this winter will persuade Europe to strong arm Ukraine into a truce -- on Russia's terms.
That, say two Russian sources familiar with Kremlin thinking, is the only path to peace that Moscow sees, given Kyiv says it will not negotiate until Russia leaves all of Ukraine.
"We have time, we can wait," said one source close to the Russian authorities, who declined to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
"It's going to be a difficult winter for Europeans. We could see protests, unrest. Some European leaders might think twice about continuing to support Ukraine and think it's time for a deal." A second source close to the Kremlin said Moscow thought it could already detect faltering European unity and expected that process to accelerate amid winter hardship. (Reuters)
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in an emotional speech to mark 31 years of independence that Ukraine was reborn when Russia invaded on Feb. 24 and would recapture annexed Crimea and occupied areas in the east.
In the recorded speech aired on the six-month anniversary of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine no longer saw the war ending when there was peace, but when Kyiv was actually victorious.
"A new nation appeared in the world on Feb. 24 at 4 in the morning. It was not born, but reborn. A nation that did not cry, scream or take fright. One that did not flee. Did not give up. And did not forget," he said.
The 44-year-old wartime leader delivered the speech in his trademark combat fatigues in front of Kyiv's central monument to independence from the Russia-controlled Soviet Union. "What for us is the end of the war? We used to say: peace. Now we say: victory," he said. (Reuters)
The Biden administration is expected on Wednesday to announce an additional roughly USD 3 billion in aid to train and equip Ukrainian forces to fight for years to come, US officials said.
The officials told The Associated Press that the package will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two.
The total of the aid package — it is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative — could change, but not likely by much.
Officials said it will include money for the small, hand-launched Puma drones, the longer-endurance Scan Eagle surveillance drones, which are launched by catapult, and, for the first time, the British Vampire drone system, which can be launched off ships. Several officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the aid before its public release. (AP)
Russian authorities have detained politician Yevgeny Roizman known for his criticism of the Kremlin and, more recently, of the military campaign in Ukraine, Russia's TASS news agency reported.
Roizman, a former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg, is being investigated for "discrediting the Russian army", TASS reported, citing Yekaterinburg security services.
Roizman was one of a handful of Kremlin critics who won mayoral posts following a series of big opposition demonstrations as President Vladimir Putin campaigned for office in 2012. (Reuters)
Ukrainians mark 31 years since they broke free from the Russia-dominated Soviet Union in what is certain to be a day of defiance against the Kremlin's six-month-old war to subdue the country once again.
Ukraine's Independence Day falls on the six-month anniversary of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion and will be marked by subdued celebrations under the threat of attacks from land, air and sea. Public gatherings are banned in the capital Kyiv and a curfew is in force in the frontline eastern city of Kharkiv, which has weathered months of shelling.
The government laid out the carcasses of burnt-out Russian tanks and armoured vehicles like war trophies in central Kyiv in a show of defiance. (Reuters)
Britain on Wednesday said it had launched talks with Kyiv over removing barriers digital trade as part of its efforts to support Ukraine following Russia's invasion of the country.
Britain in May removed all tariffs on Ukrainian goods, and is now looking to smooth trade in the digital sphere. "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and will use trade as a force for good to help the country rebuild its modern economy after this barbaric war," trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said.
"Our partnership with Ukraine will help them seize the brighter days ahead, and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect Ukrainian jobs, livelihoods and families." (Reuters)
The U.N. nuclear agency renewed its request Tuesday to assess the safety and security at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine which Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling, sparking warnings of a possible nuclear catastrophe.
U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo announced at the start of an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, requested to send an IAEA mission “to carry out essential safety, security and safeguard activities at the site.”
“Preparations for the mission are proceeding and the IAEA is in active consultations with all parties regarding its efforts to send such a mission as soon as possible,” DiCarlo said. (AP)