Ukraine and Russia: what you need to know now

Oliver2022-08-27

The situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine remains « very risky » after two of its six reactors were reconnected to the grid, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, following bombings that caused the disconnection of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant for the first time. .

ZAPORIZHZHIA

* More than 18,000 people in 72 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region were without electricity due to damage to power lines, the regional administration said, without specifying which ones.

* Zelenskiy had said Russian shelling sparked fires on Thursday in the ash pits of a nearby coal-fired power plant that disconnected the reactor complex from the power grid. The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine, saying its forces destroyed the Ukrainian weapon responsible.

STRUGGLE

* Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a top ally of President Vladimir Putin, has said Moscow will not stop its military campaign in Ukraine even if Kyiv officially gives up its aspirations to join NATO.

* British military intelligence said on Saturday that Russian assaults had likely become more intense along the Donetsk sector in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, particularly near Siversk and Bakhmut north of the city of Donetsk .

* Ukraine’s military command said on Saturday that its forces had repelled assaults by Russian forces in the direction of Soledar, Zaitseve and Mayorsk in the Donetsk region.

* Ukraine’s Southern Military Command said on Saturday that a Ukrainian airstrike had destroyed a Russian air defense system in the Kherson region, while the Antonivskyi and Daryivskiy bridges remained unusable by heavy vehicles after previous strikes .

* Ukraine plans to increase the number of districts on war front lines where civilian evacuations will be mandatory, as these areas could be busy and face central heating problems this winter, a deputy said. Prime Minister.

Reuters could not verify reports from the battlefield.

DIPLOMACY

* The United States and India have had constructive discussions on a proposed Russian oil price cap, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo says as Washington seeks global support for a proposed Russian revenue cut .

* A U.S. citizen recently died in Ukraine, a State Department spokesperson said, reiterating that Americans should avoid the country « due to the active armed conflict and the singling out of U.S. citizens in Ukraine by officials of the security of the Russian government ».

(Compiled by William Mallard)

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Oliver2022-08-27