Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of attacks around the Zaporizhia nuclear plant

Security concerns remain at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear plant.

kyiv denounced this Saturday, August 27, that Russian forces fired missiles and artillery from the plant of the largest atomic power station in Europe towards areas controlled by Ukraine on the other side of the nearby Dnieper River.

Grad missiles and artillery shells hit the surrounding towns of Nikopol and Marhanets, each about 10 kilometers from the facility, said Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region.

Energoatom, the kyiv state-owned nuclear company, also said Moscow troops had again launched airstrikes on land surrounding the plant in the last 24 hours.

“The damage is currently being determined,” the energy agency said in a statement.

kyiv insists that Moscow uses the power plant as a shield to store weapons there and launch attacks around it.

For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry accused the Ukrainian forces of bombing the area three times in the last 24 hours. The information could not be independently verified.

“A total of 17 shells were fired, four of which hit the roof of Special Building No. 1, where 168 US WestingHouse nuclear fuel assemblies are stored,” the Kremlin defense ministry said.

Moscow added that 10 of the rockets exploded near a dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and three more near a building housing fresh nuclear fuel. However, he maintained that the radiation situation at the plant remains normal.

Energoatom denounces Russian pressure to silence nuclear plant workers

The Zaporizhia power plant fell under Russian control last March, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the war against his former ally in the former Soviet Union.

Ukrainian personnel continue to operate it under the watchful eye of the Russian military. On the night of Friday, August 26, Energoatom reported that the plant’s two operating reactors had been reconnected to the grid and were supplying electricity again, after being completely disconnected on Thursday, due to fires and bombings in their facilities. vicinity.

The Ukrainian president described that the world was about to witness a “radioactive disaster”. However, as long as the armed clashes continue in the area, the danger is latent. Authorities began distributing iodine tablets on Friday to residents living near the plant in the event of a radiation leak.

A delegation from the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to visit the Zaporizhia plant next week. However, “The Russians, preparing for the IAEA visit, have increased pressure on the staff of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, to silence their testimonies about the crimes of the occupants of the station and its use as a military base,” he said. the kyiv state nuclear company.

London notes that Moscow intensifies attacks amid rumors of further Ukrainian counteroffensive

UK intelligence agencies that monitor the conflict on Ukrainian soil said foreign troops have been increasing the fury of their assaults in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine over the past five days.

London suggests that it is a response to the rumor of a major counteroffensive by the local Army.

The latest report from the British Ministry of Defense indicates that the pro-Russian separatists have most likely advanced towards the center of the village of Pisky, near the Donetsk airport. However, Russian forces have generally made few territorial gains, he notes.

The governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said on Saturday that two people were killed by Russian fire on the city of Bakhmut, a major target for Russian and separatist forces seeking to take control of parts of the region they do not yet control. .

Assaults continue in other parts of the country as well. At least one person was killed and another injured amid Russian strikes in the Mykolaiv region, local government officials said. That port city is a major Black Sea shipbuilding center.

Russia blocks adoption of UN text on nuclear disarmament

The Putin government’s representation at the United Nations on Friday prevented the adoption of a joint declaration on a nuclear disarmament treaty, after a four-week conference.

Moscow denounced what it said were “political” aspects of the text to justify its decision.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which 191 signatory countries review every five years, aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote complete disarmament and encourage cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy.

Russia objected in particular to the paragraphs regarding the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, which is occupied by the Russian army.

The latest draft of the document expressed “serious concern” about military activities around Ukraine’s power plants, including Zaporizhia, as well as the country’s own authorities’ loss of control over such sites and the negative impact on security.

With Reuters, AP, EFE and local media