Status: 03/04/2022 02:22 a.m
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia is attacking the country’s largest nuclear power plant. A fire is said to have broken out on the site as a result of the fighting. Local officials called for the fighting to stop immediately.
On Thursday, the Russian army once again expanded its attacks on numerous major Ukrainian cities – fierce fighting was reported from Kharkiv, Mariupol and Kyiv, among others. During the night, the Russian army apparently targeted the country’s power supply. Local authorities reported skirmishes with Russian soldiers near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhia – Ukraine gets most of its energy from there.
Local officials reported bombing raids on the nuclear facility, and the nuclear power plant was being fired upon with heavy artillery. A block of the power plant was hit and a fire broke out there. “We demand that they (troops) stop firing heavy weapons,” Andriy Tuz, the facility’s spokesman, said in a video published on Telegram. “There is a real threat to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.” The mayor of the nearby city of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, also warned that the nuclear power plant was in acute danger. He had previously reported about 100 Russian military vehicles in the area. The reports are not currently independently verifiable.
According to the Ukrainian energy minister, the fire brigade is currently unable to penetrate the nuclear power plant site due to the ongoing fighting. The Ukrainian foreign minister warned of a catastrophe “ten times worse than Chernobyl”. As recently as Thursday, the international nuclear regulatory agency expressed its grave concern that the fighting could inadvertently damage Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors.
Attacks on major Ukrainian cities
Just hours earlier, the Russian army had once again expanded its offensive against major Ukrainian cities. During Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of over a million inhabitants Kharkiv At least 34 civilians were killed in and around the area on Wednesday and Thursday, according to local authorities. 285 people were also injured, including 10 children, according to regional civil protection. The information cannot be independently verified. Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city, lies near the border with Russia. It has been the target of Russian attacks since the beginning of the war.
In Kyiv there were several heavy explosions on Thursday night. Air alarm was triggered, as reported by the Unian agency. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram: “The enemy is trying to break through into the capital.” According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russian troops were stationed north and northwest of Kyiv, 20 to 30 kilometers from the city limits, and set up camps. According to international observers, the Russian military convoy is progressing much more slowly than Moscow had planned.
The southern Ukrainian port city Mariupol With around 440,000 inhabitants, according to local authorities, is without water, heating and electricity after air raids. The strategically important city is now apparently surrounded.
Port city of Mariupol: Deputy Mayor in interview about Russian siege
3/3/2022 10:47 p.m
Meanwhile, detailed situation is in southern area capital Kherson not clear. The Ukrainian army has apparently abandoned the city. “We have no Ukrainian armed forces in the city, only peaceful residents who want to live here!” Mayor Ihor Kolychayev wrote on the night. Russian occupiers are in all parts of the southern port city of Cherson, the local authorities said. Kherson would be the first major Ukrainian city under new Russian control.
33 dead in Russian airstrike on Chernihiv
In a Russian attack on residential areas in the city Chernihiv According to Ukrainian sources, 33 people were killed in northern Ukraine. The city’s emergency services said 18 other people were injured. There had previously been talk of 22 fatalities. According to the information, two schools and a high-rise apartment building were hit in the attack.
The deputy mayor of Chernihiv, Regina Gusak, told the AFP news agency that Chernihiv, 120 kilometers from Kyiv, had become the target of a Russian “bombing raid”. Governor Vyacheslav Tschaus had previously spoken of a Russian airstrike in which two schools in the Staraya Podusivka district and residential buildings were hit. Chernihiv and the region of the same name are located northeast of the capital Kyiv
OSCE wants to investigate possible war crimes
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) announced on Thursday that a group of international experts would be commissioned to “investigate facts and circumstances surrounding possible war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Ukraine. According to the United Nations, 249 civilians were killed and 553 injured in the first week of the conflict. Ukraine spoke of more than 2,000 civilians killed on Wednesday.