Ukraine and Russia: what you need to know now

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Shellfire at Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine stoked fears of disaster; both sides blame each other for the attacks.

ZAPORIZHZHIA

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* Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom said on Saturday that Russian troops had shelled the grounds of the Zaporizhzhia plant again in the past 24 hours and the damage was being assessed.

* The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the complex three times in 24 hours. He said four shells hit the roof of a building storing « 168 US Westinghouse nuclear fuel assemblies ».

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STRUGGLE

* The British Ministry of Defense said it was not yet clear how Russia would achieve a large announced increase in its armed forces, but the increase is unlikely to significantly increase its combat power in Ukraine.

* The Ukrainian mayor of occupied Melitopol told Ukrainian television that the government forcibly shelled the Russian military base in the city on Saturday evening. « According to preliminary information…one of the largest military bases that was…in the city of Melitopol was also damaged and partially demilitarized »

* Reuters could not verify reports from the battlefield.

ECONOMY

* Six ships loaded with food left the Ukrainian port of Odessa, regional administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said on the Telegram app.

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* Millions of tonnes of food from previous harvests in Ukraine still need to be evacuated to make room in silos for the next, the UN coordinator for a key grain export deal said on Saturday.

* Merchant seamen will be allowed to leave Ukraine if they receive approval from their local military administrative body, Ukraine’s prime minister said on Saturday, a move that could ease the process of shipping grain.

* Germany could nationalize the energy sector abandoned by Russia’s Gazprom in April. The government has set up a holding company to carry out a possible nationalization of Gazprom Germania, Welt am Sonntag reported.

* Dell Technologies, a vital server provider in Russia, said on Saturday it had ceased all Russian operations after it closed its offices in mid-August, the latest Western company to exit.

(Compiled by William Mallard and Frances Kerry)