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Nuclear power plant near Zaporizhia (photo from August 4, 2022)
Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS
What has happened in the past few hours
After attacks near a reactor at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of being responsible.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russia to take responsibility for the "act of terrorism".
"Today the occupiers have created another extremely risky situation for all of Europe," said Zelenskyj in his daily video speech on Saturday night.
"They twice attacked the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant."
"Every bombing of the plant is a shameless crime, an act of terror," Zelenskyy said.
Russia must take responsibility for the fact that it endangered a nuclear power plant.
Zelenskyj also called for sanctions against Russia's nuclear industry.
"Anyone who creates nuclear threats to other peoples is definitely incapable of using nuclear technology safely," said Zelenskyy.
Specifically, he called for punitive measures against the Russian state-owned company Rosatom.
According to the state operator Energoatom, three attacks took place near a nuclear reactor on the factory premises in Zaporizhia on Friday.
As a result of the Russian attacks, a high-voltage line to the neighboring thermal power plant was damaged.
Energoatom announced that no radioactivity had escaped.
This means that two of the six reactors are now in operation.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has appealed to the international community to ensure that the Russians return control of the nuclear power plant to the Ukrainians.
Should an operating reactor be hit, the possible consequences are "tantamount to the use of a nuclear bomb," warned the authorities in Kyiv.
Moscow says so
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the radiation escape was avoided only through fortunate circumstances.
The Russian army said that "armed Ukrainian groups" carried out three artillery strikes on the site of the nuclear power plant and in the city of Enerhodar.
She called on "international organizations to condemn the criminal actions of Zelenskyi's regime, which commits acts of nuclear terrorism".
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Friday evening that parts of the city of Enerhodar, where the power plant is located, had lost power and water supplies.
In addition, a block of the nuclear power plant had to be partially shut down.
A fire on the factory premises could be extinguished.
The information could not be independently verified.
British intelligence recently came to the conclusion that actions by the Russian armed forces have a high probability of jeopardizing the safety of the nuclear power plant.
Just a few days ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed concern about the situation around the power plant.
With six blocks and an output of 6000 megawatts, it is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Russian troops took control of it in March, shortly after Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine began.
An inspection to check technical safety is urgently needed, said IAEA boss Rafael Grossi.
But it is currently very difficult for the IAEA to even get into the war zone in Zaporizhia.
military aid
The United States wants to support Ukraine with another military aid package expected to be worth $1 billion.
The package would include ammunition for long-range weapons and armored ambulances, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
According to previous plans, it contains ammunition for the Himar and Nasam missile systems.
The official announcement is scheduled for Monday.
US President Joe Biden has not yet signed the project.
Hunt for collaborators
A curfew has been imposed in the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, which is under heavy Russian shelling.
The curfew will apply from 11 p.m. (10 p.m. CEST) on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday and is intended to help in the search for Russian collaborators, the governor of the region, Vitali Kim, announced on Friday in a video message on his Telegram channel.
"We will do what is necessary, including in relation to citizens who cooperate with the Russian side," he said.
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"Honest people have nothing to fear," Kim assured them.
“To be on the safe side, carry your papers with you.
You can walk your dog near your apartment, children are allowed to play in the yard, but try to stay at home.«
Kim pledged a $100 bounty in July for information leading to the identification of collaborators who are leaking the occupiers' locations of Ukrainian troops or helping them spot potential bombing targets.
gas emergency plan
The EU gas emergency plan agreed at the end of July will come into force next week.
The member states had formally accepted the plan, the Czech EU Council Presidency announced on Friday in Brussels.
It will now be published in the Official Journal of the EU at the beginning of next week and will come into force on the following day.
The plan provides for voluntary winter savings of 15 percent per country.
The regulation provides for numerous exceptions for states or sectors such as the food industry.
It is unclear whether the planned savings target of a total of 45 billion cubic meters of gas can be achieved.
Germany will probably have to save significantly more gas this winter than other countries.
In the event of a possible Russian gas supply stop, massive problems for the industry or even a recession should be prevented, said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) after the agreement in Brussels.
He referred to the "strategic mistakes" of the previous governments and the high German dependence on Russian gas.
jul/dpa/Reuters/AFP