The situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine continues to deteriorate.
(Photo: dpa)
Kyiv Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are scheduled to inspect the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine this week. “I am proud to lead this mission, which will be at the nuclear power plant later this week,” tweeted IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Monday morning. IAEA experts are to investigate damage and security systems of the nuclear power plant, which was repeatedly fired upon during the Russian war of aggression.
Several artillery shells reportedly fell in the town of Enerhodar, where the power plant employees live, on Sunday evening. As in the previous days, the Russian and Ukrainian sides blamed each other for the shelling. Videos from both sides showed that numerous cars were burning in residential areas.
The Russian occupation administration also reported an alleged Ukrainian attack with a drone. The aircraft was shot down and fell on the containment shell over a reactor. The explosive charge detonated without causing any damage. This information has not been independently verified. It was assumed that the drone was intended to hit a spent fuel storage facility.
The night shelling of the city of Enerhodar injured nine people, two of them seriously, said Vladimir Rogov, a member of the occupation administration, on Monday night. The escaped Ukrainian mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlow, spoke of a provocation: Russian troops had fired. He accused Moscow of “nuclear blackmail” because Russian troops entrenched themselves in the nuclear power plant.
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The international community fears a possible nuclear accident caused by the fighting at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Two reactors went into emergency shutdown last week because the power supply was intermittent. There are still no safety guarantees for the expected journey of the IAEA experts.
Tense situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
Selenski: Every attack is followed by an answer
No attack on Ukrainian cities will remain unanswered, said President Volodymyr Zelensky after the consultation with the military: “Zaporizhia, Orikhiv, Kharkiv, Donbass – they will get an answer for everyone.” According to the Presidential Office, the meeting was about the situation at the front, the needs of the army and coordination with international partners.
According to the authorities, the Rivne region in northern Ukraine was attacked with Russian rockets on Sunday evening. Activists from neighboring Belarus linked the attack to several Russian warplanes taking off from airfields in Belarus.
The ruler there, Alexander Lukashenko, made his country available to the Russian troops as a deployment area against Ukraine. Two rockets also hit the center of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday evening, as Mayor Ihor Terekhov announced. An administration building was destroyed.
Dozens of places along the more than 2,000-kilometer-long front line have been shelled by Russian tanks, tube and rocket artillery, the Ukrainian General Staff said. Russian assaults were repelled in several places in the Donbass.
Kremlin prepares ground for referendums on annexation
Russia continues to move towards annexation of the occupied territories in Ukraine through referendums. High-ranking Kremlin official Sergey Kiriyenko put out a number that said that in the pro-Russian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, 91 to 92 percent of the population were in favor of joining Russia. In the Cherson and Zaporizhia areas, which have been conquered since February, it is 75 to 77 percent. Kiriyenko was citing surveys in the region that allegedly showed these results.
“The decision is pending,” said the deputy head of the Presidential Office. President Vladimir Putin has always said that the decision lies with the people of the region and that Russia will respect their choice. The Russian and Ukrainian media have repeatedly speculated about referendums in the occupied territories in September. Russian online portal Medusa, which operates out of Latvia, reported, citing sources in the Kremlin, that support for joining was much lower.
Newspaper: EU wants to make entry more difficult for Russians
The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell considered an entry ban to the EU to be “not a good suggestion”.
(Photo: IMAGO/SNA)
According to a report in the Financial Times, the European Union is preparing to restrict entry options for Russian citizens because of the war in Ukraine. According to the newspaper, the EU foreign ministers want to discuss at an informal meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Prague whether an agreement on the simplified issuing of visas from 2007 will be suspended. The Baltic states and Poland in particular are pushing for an entry ban. Germany and Austria reject this.
The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell considered an entry ban to the EU to be “not a good suggestion”. On the Austrian television channel ORF, he warned against completely cutting off contact with the Russian civilian population.
This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war and the consequences:
That will be important on Monday
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) visits the Czech Republic and gives a keynote speech on European policy at Charles University in Prague. Scholz had announced a turning point because of the Russian war of aggression. However, Germany has been criticized for sticking too closely to Russia in the past and now helping Ukraine too little. Scholz’s topics include energy policy, possible entry bans for Russian tourists and arms deliveries to Ukraine.
More: Don’t miss any development – Everything new in our news blog about the Ukraine war