Status: 08/14/2022 09:19 a.m
In the wake of the attacks on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has warned of a growing nuclear threat to Europe. He called for new sanctions against Russia’s nuclear industry.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Europe of a growing nuclear threat. In view of the ongoing fighting around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, he warned in a video message that “the radioactive threat to Europe is increasing to a level not seen even at the most difficult moments of confrontation during the Cold War”.
He again accused Russia of blackmail. The “occupiers” used the nuclear power plant to spread fear “in an extremely cynical way”, according to Selenskyj. Russian troops would “hide” behind the nuclear power plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled cities of Nikopol and Marhanets.
Zelenskyj: Sanctions against Moscow’s nuclear industry
Zelenskyj called on the West to impose sanctions on Russia’s nuclear industry. The punitive measures should hit Russia’s nuclear industry. Ukrainian diplomats and representatives of the partner countries are now doing everything to block Russia’s nuclear industry. In addition, the responsible officials of the “state of terror” would have to be held accountable by the international criminal justice system. According to Zelensky, every Russian soldier who fires on the nuclear power plant or hides there becomes a target for Ukrainian secret agents and the army.
Moscow and Kyiv have been blaming each other for the attacks near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, with six reactors and a net output of 5,700 megawatts. The facility has been occupied by the Russian army since the beginning of March. The leadership in Moscow and the occupation authorities in Zaporizhia have rejected demands to return the nuclear power plant to Ukrainian control.
After the first attacks on August 5, one reactor had to be shut down. A pumping station and radiation sensors were damaged in attacks last Thursday. The Ukrainian authorities and western allies are demanding a demilitarized zone around the nuclear power plant and a withdrawal of Russian troops.
Situation in the east still difficult
Zelenskyi also said in a speech that the situation in eastern Ukraine is still difficult, but without major changes. The Kharkiv region in particular is repeatedly attacked, but the defense is holding up. Meanwhile, Russia has deployed “colossal resources” in terms of artillery, personnel and equipment in the Donbass. The information could not be checked independently.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
But there is also good news in the south. There, according to Zelensky, the Ukrainian military repeatedly managed to inflict blows on the Russian army. According to Ukrainian sources, the car bridge of the Nowa Kakhovka dam in the Cherson region is no longer passable as a result of several attacks. The Ukrainian Army Command South announced on Facebook that the bridge had been deliberately rendered unusable by rocket and artillery units.
Kyiv: Last river crossings destroyed
According to this, the Ukrainian army has now succeeded in destroying the last of the three river crossings using long-range missile systems. This is intended to prevent the Russian army from being replenished on the right bank of the Dnipro and to enable recapture. The Ukrainians had previously rendered the railway bridge and the road bridge at Cherson unusable.
Russian troops built a civilian ferry service across the river, and reportedly several pontoon bridges for the military as well. The administration of the Russian occupiers confirmed the shelling of the dam bridge. At the same time, she warned of damage to the dam wall, which could lead to a catastrophe. According to the operators, the output of the connected hydroelectric power station has been reduced to emergency operation. “We are working in a very dangerous mode,” said the power plant’s deputy chief Arsenyy Zelenskyy, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
Topic overview
war in Ukraine
16 ships with food underway
Zelenskyi also described the transport of Ukrainian grain and foodstuffs via the Black Sea ports as good news. Meanwhile, 16 ships with corn, wheat, soybean, sunflower oil and other products have left to ease the situation on the global food market. The proceeds from the sale would benefit the state and the farmers, who could now sow the new seeds, Zelenskyj said.
Agricultural exports via Ukraine’s Black Sea ports were blocked for months because of the war. On July 22, the war opponents Ukraine and Russia, each signed an agreement with Turkey through UN mediation, to allow grain exports from Ukraine again.