Putin regime ‘threatening the world with nuclear catastrophe’, Ukraine says
Ukraine’s mission to the IAEA said Monday’s attack by Russia on its energy infrastructure was intended to paralyse the operation of power facilities.
“It is a deliberate decision by the Putin regime to threaten the world with nuclear catastrophe,” Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said on Telegram messenger.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it had struck electricity substations in nine Ukrainian regions and gas compressor stations in three regions.
The IAEA has urged both sides to refrain from fighting around nuclear plants to avoid a catastrophic incident, and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said after visiting Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant on Tuesday that there was a risk of a nuclear accident there.
Key events
Here is a summary of today’s events:
-
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday urged the EU allies to expedite deliveries of promised air defence systems. “I conveyed a sense of urgency regarding the delivery of already pledged military aid, including air defence systems,” he said on X after his meeting with the EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
-
Russia on Thursday held former deputy defence minister Pavel Popov on fraud charges in the latest arrest of a high-ranking military official. Moscow has arrested at least nine army officials in recent months in the midst of its Ukraine offensive, in what some analysts have called a purge of military figures seen as corrupt.
-
Ukraine’s mission to the IAEA said Monday’s attack by Russia on its energy infrastructure was intended to paralyse the operation of power facilities. “It is a deliberate decision by the Putin regime to threaten the world with nuclear catastrophe,” Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said on Telegram messenger.
-
A Ukrainian F-16 jet was destroyed in a crash on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a U.S. official. The official said it looked like the incident had not been caused by enemy fire and was likely the result of pilot error.
-
Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday he spent several days on the eastern Pokrovsk front that has seen an intensified Russian push recently. Syrskyi said on Facebook that Russia was throwing everything it could into its assaults, trying to break through Ukrainian defences.
-
Russia said Thursday that it took two more east Ukrainian villages – in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions – as its forces continue their advance deeper into the country.
-
Ukrainian air defences shot down about 15 drones launched by Russia in its third attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Thursday.
A Ukrainian F-16 jet was destroyed in a crash on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a U.S. official.
The official said it looked like the incident had not been caused by enemy fire and was likely the result of pilot error.
Ukraine’s air force did not immediately respond to Reuters’s request for comment about the report.
Russia on Thursday held former deputy defence minister Pavel Popov on fraud charges in the latest arrest of a high-ranking military official.
Moscow has arrested at least nine army officials in recent months in the midst of its Ukraine offensive, in what some analysts have called a purge of military figures seen as corrupt.
Investigators said Popov had enriched himself while overseeing the construction of the army-themed Patriot Park outside Moscow – built to glorify Russia’s military.
“A criminal case has been opened against former vice minister of defence of the Russian Federation, reserve general Pavel Popov,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.
Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday he spent several days on the eastern Pokrovsk front that has seen an intensified Russian push recently.
Syrskyi said on Facebook that Russia was throwing everything it could into its assaults, trying to break through Ukrainian defences.
“Fighting is exceptionally tough,” he said, adding that Ukraine had to constantly use unorthodox methods to strengthen its positions.
Ukrainian foreign minister urges EU to expedite deliveries of air defence systems
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday urged the EU allies to expedite deliveries of promised air defence systems.
“I conveyed a sense of urgency regarding the delivery of already pledged military aid, including air defence systems,” he said on X after his meeting with the EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“The EU is an important pillar of the coalition to support Ukraine and I welcome the intention of a number of EU member states to respond to Ukraine’s call and advocate for lifting restrictions on the use of weapons on all legitimate military targets in Russia in their bilateral dialogues with other members of the coalition.
“I am also grateful to EU member states who have promised to step up relevant efforts and provide additional equipment and resources for Ukrainian energy system.”
During today’s meeting in Brussels with EU foreign ministers, I conveyed a sense of urgency regarding the delivery of already pledged military aid, including air defense systems. I appreciate the readiness of my colleagues to take necessary steps to expedite these deliveries.… pic.twitter.com/wvVIT4wqTc
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 29, 2024
Putin regime ‘threatening the world with nuclear catastrophe’, Ukraine says
Ukraine’s mission to the IAEA said Monday’s attack by Russia on its energy infrastructure was intended to paralyse the operation of power facilities.
“It is a deliberate decision by the Putin regime to threaten the world with nuclear catastrophe,” Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said on Telegram messenger.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it had struck electricity substations in nine Ukrainian regions and gas compressor stations in three regions.
The IAEA has urged both sides to refrain from fighting around nuclear plants to avoid a catastrophic incident, and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said after visiting Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant on Tuesday that there was a risk of a nuclear accident there.
An analyst has warned that diverting some of Ukraine’s most capable forces from the east is a gamble for Kyiv, even though by capturing a chunk of Russian territory, Ukraine has embarrassed the Kremlin and reshaped the battlefield.
“This all carries considerable risk, particularly if an effort to over-stretch Russian forces results in overstretching the smaller Ukrainian forces,” according to Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at the IISS.
An attempt to create a foothold in Kursk would further extend the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line, adding to the challenges faced by the undermanned and outgunned Ukrainian forces. Defending positions inside Russia would raise serious logistical problems, with the extended supply lines becoming easy targets.
“The Russian system is very hierarchical and stiff, so it always takes them a significant amount of time to adapt to a new situation,” Lange said, “but we will have to see how Ukraine can sustain there, once Russia has adapted and comes with full force.”
When he was wounded in fierce fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut in March last year, Ukrainian soldier Yevhenii Korinets thought he was going to die.
“I had almost said goodbye to life,” he told Reuters in the town of Reshetylivka. “There was one thought in my mind: ‘I’m 25, I haven’t been anywhere, haven’t travelled anywhere, haven’t seen the world and now I’m dying’.”
Seventeen months on and Korinets’ life has turned around.
The former military paramedic, whose left leg was amputated at the hip, qualified for the national sitting volleyball team and spoke during a break from training with fellow athletes ahead of the Paralympics in Paris which opened on Wednesday.
“Now I am travelling, I’ve been everywhere: the United States, China, countries like that, and obviously Europe too,” Korinets said in early August during a break in drills in a gym in central Ukraine.
He is one of around 140 Ukrainian athletes competing at the 2024 Paralympic Games, a competition that has taken on added significance after Russia’s full-scale invasion that has left thousands of soldiers and civilians with life-altering injuries.
The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said today as he visited Brussels that “Ukraine’s successes in Kursk demonstrate that it is capable of regaining the initiative and prevailing on the battlefield.”
“We need more bold decisions to capitalize on this momentum,” he stressed.
Glad to be welcomed in Brussels by @JosepBorrellF today for an important EU ministers meeting ahead of the new political season.
Long-term peace in Europe depends on bold short-term decisions to support Ukraine, such as long-range strikes, air defense, and timely military aid.… pic.twitter.com/xt0j8g6YCD
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 29, 2024
Here is a summary of today’s events so far:
-
Ukraine has stepped up calls for permission to use western-supplied weapons against military targets inside Russia. Ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said long-term security for Europe began with “short-term bold decisions for Ukraine”.
-
A Ukrainian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure puts nuclear plants at risk. It said in a note on Thursday: “Russian attacks pose a significant risk to the stable operation of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and the safety of millions of people.”
-
Ukrainian air defences shot down about 15 drones launched by Russia in its third attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Thursday. Drone debris damaged the windows and doors of an apartment building and caused a fire in a non-residential building which was extinguished, Popko said in a statement after the latest Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, which were mainly overnight.
-
Russia said Thursday that it took two more east Ukrainian villages – in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions – as its forces continue their advance deeper into the country. The defence ministry said Russian forces captured the village of Mykolaivka, around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, as well as the settlement of Stelmakhivka in the neighbouring Lugansk region.