Another shelling reported: new concerns about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

The fighting at the Ukrainian Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is apparently continuing – despite international efforts to de-escalate the situation. According to Ukrainian sources, the Russian side fired on the site again.

According to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops have fired on the site of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The shelling came from a village a few kilometers away and damaged a pumping station and a fire station, Ukrainian military intelligence said.

Earlier, Russian troops brought people into the power plant and raised a Ukrainian flag on the outskirts of the city of Enerhodar, to whose territory the plant belongs. Apparently, the power plant “is being used for another provocation in order to then accuse the armed forces of Ukraine,” the secret service said, without giving details.

The Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom called on residents in the messenger service Telegram to limit their “presence in the streets” of Enerhodar. “We have information about new provocations by the occupiers”. Energoatom referred to a statement from an official in the city of Enerhodar, which is still controlled by Kyiv. According to residents, there are again bomb attacks in the direction of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. “The intervals between launch and impact are between three and five seconds.”

Nuclear power plant as a protective shield?

Ukraine has repeatedly said that Russian forces are using the nuclear power plant as a shield while shelling towns on the other side of the Dnieper, knowing full well that the Ukrainian military will not fire back out of fear of a nuclear accident. Last night, the Russian shelling killed a woman in the city of Zaporizhia, the Ukrainian side said. Two other civilians were injured.

The administration deployed by Moscow in the Russian-controlled areas, in turn, accused the Ukrainian troops of being responsible for the attacks. “Enerhodar and the Zaporizhia NPP are again under fire from supporters,” said Vladimir Rogov, a member of the pro-Russian civil and military administration. Projectiles fell on “areas on the banks of the Dnieper and on the nuclear power plant site”.

EU for demilitarization of Zaporizhia NPP

The Dnieper River separates the Russian-controlled and Ukrainian-controlled areas. In the past week, the two parties to the conflict have repeatedly blamed each other for attacks on the nuclear power plant. The rocket attacks raise fears of a catastrophe at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Russian troops have controlled the Zaporizhia complex since the first days of the Russian invasion. However, it is still run by Ukrainian employees. After the first attacks on August 5, one reactor had to be shut down. A pumping station and radiation sensors were damaged in attacks on Thursday.

The Ukrainian authorities and Western allies are demanding a demilitarized zone around the nuclear power plant and a withdrawal of Russian troops who have been occupying the nuclear power plant since March. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted yesterday that the nuclear power plant should not be drawn into military conflicts. He supports calls for demilitarization of the area and urges experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit.

Heavy attacks in the east, allegedly weakened Russians in the south

According to the Ukrainian military, there were new heavy rocket attacks in the east of the country. The city and the Kharkiv region were heavily shelled. According to the authorities, the city of Kramatorsk in the Donbass was also shelled.

In its situation report, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow confirmed the rocket and artillery fire in the Kharkiv and Cherson regions, among other places. The focus was therefore still on the Donetsk region, which is to be completely wrested from Ukrainian control as Moscow’s next target in the course of the Russian war of aggression. The Donetsk suburb of Pisky in the northwest of the city has now been taken, it said. Initially, there was no confirmation from the Ukrainian side.

On the other hand, according to British secret services, the Russian position in occupied Cherson in southern Ukraine has been significantly weakened. Reason are counterattacks on strategically important river crossings. The British Ministry of Defense said it was no longer possible to transport significant military equipment to the Russian-occupied areas west of the river via the two main road bridges over the Dnieper. On the important Antonivka Bridge, the Russians have only been able to repair superficially in the past few days. The other important bridge has become impassable for heavy military vehicles due to Ukrainian attacks with precision weapons in the past few days.