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Reuters
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency expressed grave concern over the shelling of Ukrainian nuclear power plants. The Ukrainian military said Russian forces had attacked dozens of frontline towns.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what President Vladimir Putin called a "special military operation." Since then, the conflict has largely turned into a war of attrition in the east and south of Ukraine.
However, the dispute over the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in the south, which was occupied by Russian forces in the early stages of the war but is still run by Ukrainian engineers, has the potential for wider disaster.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said: "We are very concerned about the shelling of Europe's largest nuclear power plant yesterday. This highlights the very real risk of a nuclear disaster." statement.
Both countries have accused each other of involvement in "nuclear terrorism."
Ukraine's state-owned nuclear power company, Energoatom, blamed Russia for the damage, and the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the power plant.
Although the United States accuses Russia of using it as a "nuclear shield", the Russian Defense Ministry said the damage to the plant was due to its forces' "skilled and capable
Grossi, who heads the United Nations nuclear watchdog, urged all parties to exercise "maximum restraint."
A shell struck the facility's high-voltage power lines on Friday, prompting operators to disconnect the reactor even though no radioactive leak was detected. rice field.
War raged in the East and South while the world's attention was focused on nuclear power plants.
Russia occupies the territory of the largely Russian-speaking eastern Donbass, consisting of the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, where pro-Moscow separatists occupied territory after the Kremlin annexed southern Crimea in 2014.
Ukrainian forces said late Saturday that Russian forces had shelled dozens of front-line towns and attempted to attack six different areas of the Donetsk region, but none of them had taken control of the territory. and was intercepted by the Ukrainian military. Power.
Reuters was unable to confirm either side's claims regarding the deployment of the battlefield.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that the Ukrainian military had "strongly achieved" in the past week in supplying Russian logistics and destroying rear bases.
"All attacks against enemy ammunition depots, command posts and Russian stockpiles will save the lives of all of us, the lives of the Ukrainian military and civilians," he said late at night. video address.
Grain exports
British military intelligence had previously said that Russian forces were almost certain to be massing in the south in anticipation of counterattacks and preparations for an offensive, and that the war would continue. He said he was about to go to war. In the new phase, most of the fighting would shift to a front of about 350 km (217 mi) from near Zaporizhia to Kherson, parallel to the Dnieper.
Ukrainian forces plan to attack bridges, ammunition depots and railroad networks in the southern region, including a strategically important railroad spur linking Kherson with Russian-occupied Crimea. was focused. Said.
In an effort overseen by the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which employs personnel from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations, Ukraine is beginning to resume grain exports, fearing a global food crisis.
Before the invasion, Russia and Ukraine together accounted for nearly one-third of world wheat exports.
Zelensky welcomed the resumption of exports, but said risks remained.
"The threat of Russian provocations and terrorist acts remains. Everyone needs to be aware of this," he said.
"But if our partners do their part and ensure the safety of supplies, this will truly solve the global food crisis."
After an uproar over a human rights report by Amnesty International accusing the Ukrainian military of endangering civilians by stationing troops in residential areas during the invasion, the head of its Ukraine office said the report resigned, saying he opposed the issuance of
Amnesty International's report was heavily criticized by the Ukrainian government, led by Zelenskiy, who accused the group of "trying to shift the blame from the perpetrators to the victims".
An Amnesty International spokesperson said it regretted the resignation of the head of the Ukraine office and said the group was preparing a further statement on the controversial report. 78}
Ukrainian authorities say they are doing everything possible to evacuate civilians from frontline areas. Russia has denied targeting civilians in what it describes as a "special military operation" in Ukraine. (Reported by Reuters, edited by Robert Birsel)
