live blog
Status: 08/08/2022 05:04
In the face of heavy fighting in the Donbass, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has hinted at new deliveries of weapons from the West. A cargo ship has docked in a Ukrainian port for the first time. The developments in the live blog.
4:53 a.m
Guterres: Risk of nuclear confrontation present again
According to the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, the danger of a nuclear confrontation is “back after decades”. Nuclear nations should commit to not using these weapons for the first time, Guterres said at a news conference in Tokyo ahead of the weekend’s Hiroshima peace memorial ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the first atomic bombing.
Any attacks on a nuclear power plant are also “suicidal,” he said, referring to reports of renewed Russian shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhia in Ukraine.
The attack on Zaporizhia alerted the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi on Saturday warned of the risk of a nuclear disaster that could threaten public health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond.
3:05 a.m
Weapons deliveries: Zelenskyj expects “good news”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hinted at new arms deliveries to his compatriots in the face of heavy fighting in the Donbass. “Next week we expect news from partners regarding the aid packages. Good news!” Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Sunday. The key to successful defense is still arms deliveries from the West, he warned.
According to Zelenskyy, the toughest fighting is raging in Donbass. The situation there remains difficult. Defending places like “Avdiivka, Pisky, Maryinka and Bakhmut requires our main effort and, unfortunately, a lot of lives,” he said. He also renewed his accusations against Russia for shelling the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. There must be a “principled response from the world community,” he demanded.
1:45 a.m
Zelenskyj: Referendums mean the end of the possibility of talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has threatened Russia with a permanent break off of talks if Russia pushes ahead with the annexation of further Ukrainian territories. In his video speech, Selenskyj refers to the referendums announced by the Russian side in occupied territories about annexation to Russia. “If the occupiers continue down the path of pseudo-referendums, they will end all opportunities for dialogue with Ukraine and the free world,” said Zelenskyy.
In the first few weeks after the Russian invasion in February, delegations from both sides met repeatedly for talks, which have not been continued since the end of March. Russia had already annexed Crimea in 2014, citing an internationally unrecognized referendum.
1:32 a.m
End of the naval blockade: First freighter arrived in Ukraine
A cargo ship has docked in a Ukrainian port for the first time since the end of the Russian naval blockade. “The bulk carrier Fulmar S has arrived at the port of Chornomorsk and is ready for loading,” announced the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure on its Telegram channel. Ships that have left Ukrainian ports in recent days have been stuck there since the beginning of the war. The resumption of shipping traffic and the associated grain shipments from Ukraine are important for stabilizing food prices worldwide.
So far, eight ships carrying grain have left Ukrainian ports since the beginning of August. They were among dozens of freighters that had been stranded there since the war began in February because of the Russian naval blockade and the Ukrainian military’s mining of its own ports. With the arrival of the Fulmar S, the grain corridor now has an “entrance and exit,” explained Infrastructure Minister Olexander Kubrakow. This is an important signal for the markets.