The IAEA is to inspect the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia.
(Photo: Reuters)
Kyiv Early Wednesday morning, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) made their way to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine. “We will spend a few days there,” announced IAEA chief and head of mission Rafael Grossi before leaving Kyiv. The group of Grossi and 13 experts is there to “stabilize the situation as much as we can”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy received Grossi’s delegation in Kyiv on Tuesday. Their trip is accompanied by Russian and Ukrainian allegations that the other side is shelling the route to prevent an inspection of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. The information could not be checked.
For Ukraine, Wednesday marks the 189th day of the war since the start of the Russian invasion. There was still little information about the progress of a Ukrainian offensive in the south that had been ongoing since the beginning of the week. During the night of Wednesday, the Russian occupation forces reported numerous heavy explosions in the city of Cherson.
The EU foreign ministers want to discuss the war and possible new sanctions against Russia in Prague on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Russia’s Gazprom is suspending the delivery of natural gas through the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 for three days due to alleged maintenance work.
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Ukraine wants demilitarization of Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
IAEA boss Grossi hopes for talks with the Ukrainian power plant employees. Before leaving, he emphasized that the group had received all the necessary guarantees for the long journey to the war zone, a good 450 kilometers from Kyiv. “We are going to the occupied territory and this requires explicit guarantees not only from the Russian side, but also from Ukraine,” he underlined. The convoy of ten white SUVs with UN markings started moving early Wednesday morning.
Nuclear energy experts travel to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
Zelensky told the experts that the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant should be demilitarized and returned to Ukrainian control. This is the only way to rule out risks to nuclear safety, he said. But the task of the mission is narrower. She is tasked with assessing the safety of the plant, assessing possible damage, investigating the working conditions of the Ukrainian power plant crew and checking that all nuclear material is in place. The IAEA, based in Vienna, has more than 60 years of experience in the global control of safety standards in nuclear facilities.
Occupier: IAEA experts are only allowed to work one day
The Russian occupation administration in the partially conquered Zaporizhia region restricted the prospects of a thorough exploration of the nuclear power plant from the outset. The experts should “see how the plant works in one day,” said the head of administration Yevgeny Balitsky in Melitopol. “The items they name will be viewable over time.”
Balizki said the group’s transition from Ukrainian territory to Russian-controlled territory should take place near Vasylivka, south of the regional capital Zaporizhia. The experts would have to leave before nightfall. During the visit, they want to demonstrate the weapons with which Ukraine fired at the nuclear power plant.
Kyiv has accused Russian troops of firing themselves in order to blame possible damage on Ukraine. There was no precise information about the travel route and the arrival of the experts at the nuclear power plant. The Russian agency Tass called Wednesday without citing sources.
Gazprom clamps Baltic Sea pipeline for three days
As announced, the gas supply via the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 was stopped early Wednesday morning. According to the Nord Stream AG website, no significant amount flowed in the hour from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. The amount had already dropped in the hour before. The state-owned company Gazprom had announced that deliveries via the last most important route to Germany for Russian gas would be temporarily suspended due to maintenance work. Deliveries are expected to resume early Saturday morning.
Gas will no longer flow through the Baltic Sea pipeline until at least Saturday.
(Photo: Reuters)
The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, said the maintenance work was technically incomprehensible. Most recently, only about 20 percent of the maximum possible amount came through the pipeline. According to Gazprom, there are also technical reasons for this, which the German government, among others, doubts.
The gas supply through Nord Stream 1 had already been stopped for several days in July – at that time, however, due to annual maintenance work, which Nord Stream AG, as the operating company, had announced in the long term.
First grain from Ukraine arrived in Africa
A first freighter with grain from Ukraine reached the East African country of Djibouti. It is the first ship from the UN World Food Program with this goal since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, wrote WFP Managing Director David Beasley on Twitter.
The cargo is destined for Ethiopia, where more than 20 million people are suffering from hunger, according to the WFP. The ship has loaded 23,000 tons of wheat. At the end of July, the UN and Turkey mediated agreements that Ukraine could again export grain through its Black Sea ports despite the Russian blockade.
This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war and the consequences:
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That will be important on Wednesday
At their informal meeting in Prague, the EU foreign ministers discuss the effects of the war on the security of the European Union. Another sanction against Russia could be that entry options for Russian citizens would be restricted. After the federal government rejected such measures for a long time, it is now in favor of suspending the European visa agreement with Moscow for easier entry.
More: Don’t miss any development – Everything new in our news blog about the Ukraine war