Live blog: Ukraine nuclear plant offline after Russian shelling

Monday, September 5, 2022

Ukraine: Nuclear plant offline after Russian shelling

Europe’s largest nuclear plant has been knocked off Ukraine's electricity grid after its last transmission line was disconnected as a result of a fire caused by Russian shelling, the facility’s operator and the UN atomic watchdog said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was informed on Monday by Ukrainian authorities that the reserve line “was deliberately disconnected in order to extinguish a fire.”

“The line itself is not damaged, and it will be reconnected once the fire is extinguished,” the IAEA said.

Russia sanctions 25 more Americans, including Penn, Stiller

Russia has imposed personal sanctions on 25 Americans, including actors Sean Penn and Ben Stiller, in response to US sanctions against Russians stemming from the conflict in Ukraine.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was on the new sanctions list, as were several American senators: Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Rick Scott of Florida, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the group, which also included business leaders, academics and government officials, would be banned permanently from entering Russia.

Kremlin claims sanctions are holding up natural gas supplies

Western sanctions on Russia are to blame for stoppages in Moscow’s supply of natural gas to Europe, a senior Kremlin official has claimed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said problems with pumping the gas occurred “because of the sanctions" and that "other reasons that would cause problems with the pumping don’t exist."

The sanctions on Moscow and Russian companies have created problems with equipment maintenance, he said, though that claim has been refuted by Western governments and engineers.

EU signs deal with Ukraine for further 500M euros in aid

The European Union has signed a deal with Ukraine to release a further $497 million in planned aid, this time to support housing, education and agriculture.

The European Commission announced the package as senior officials hosted a meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council with Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Brussels.

Moscow: Russian oil cap will be source of uncertainty

A plan by the G7 nations to cap Russian oil prices in the wake of Moscow's military operations in Ukraine will sow "uncertainty" on the global market, Russia's deputy energy minister has said.

"We shall examine how the market situation will evolve because there are many uncertainties" not least regarding "the declaration by G7 leaders regarding capping of the price of Russian oil," Alexander Novak said following a video conference call with OPEC+ countries.

"We have agreed to continue meeting on a monthly basis in order to propose the most rational solutions for the market," Novak added in remarks carried by state news agency TASS.

Russian referendum in southern Ukraine on hold

Moscow-backed authorities in the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson have suggested that plans for a referendum on joining Russia had been delayed but insisted a vote would take place.

"We have prepared for the vote. We wanted to hold a referendum in the near future but because of all the events that are occurring, I think that we will pause for now," Kirill Stremousov, a pro-Russia official in Kherson, said in remarks broadcast by Russian state TV.

Stremousov said this was an "understandably practical" decision because the pro-Moscow authorities were "fulfilling the main task — feeding and protecting the population".

Russia revokes media license of independent newspaper

A court in Moscow has upheld a motion from Russian authorities to revoke the license of a top independent newspaper that for years has been critical of the Kremlin.

The ruling against Novaya Gazeta, Russia's most renowned independent newspaper, comes amid Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

Ukraine PM asks EU for missile and air defence, offers gas supplies

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has urged the European Union to supply Kiev with more weapons and equipment while offering to help out with gas deliveries to reduce the bloc's dependence on Russia.

"We need more modern weapons, such as air defence, missile defence and ship defence," Shmyhal told reporters after a meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels.

He said his country also needed aircraft and more armoured vehicles as there were no signs Russia was willing to end the war.

Zelenskyy adviser tells residents to prepare bomb shelters in Crimea

Ukraine has told residents of Russian-annexed Crimea to prepare bomb shelters and stock up on supplies as Kiev presses ahead with plans for a major counteroffensive to drive Russian troops out of occupied Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine has for weeks been telling residents in its occupied south to be ready and to evacuate before it launches a counter-offensive. Still, Monday's warning was notable because it was addressed to residents of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

"We ask residents of occupied territories, including the Crimean peninsula, to follow (Ukrainian) officials' recommendations during de-occupation measures," said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.

Boris Johnson bids farewell to Zelenskyy in final call as UK PM

Britain's Boris Johnson has paid tribute to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine in his final call as prime minister, saying that they can and will defeat Russia and pledging to stay in contact as friends.

"The Prime Minister spoke to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this afternoon to thank him for his leadership and friendship. The Prime Minister made clear that he believed President Zelenskiy and his people can and will win the war in Ukraine," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

"The Prime Minister told President Zelenskyy it had been a privilege to work with him and support him, and the leaders agreed to stay in close touch as friends."

UK: Russia's losses in Ukraine to impact its effectiveness

Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said that Russia continued to lose significant equipment and personnel in Ukraine, adding that the losses will have a lasting impact on Moscow's effectiveness in the fight.

"Russia continues to lose significant equipment and personnel... This will have long-lasting impact on Russia's army and its future combat effectiveness," Wallace said.

Ukraine says 4 civilians killed, 7 wounded by Russian shells

At least four civilians were killed and seven others were wounded by Russian shelling in the past 24 hours across several regions of Ukraine, Ukraine’s presidential office has said. 

Most of the casualties were in the eastern Donetsk region, where three people were killed and four were wounded. A large chunk of Donetsk is held by Russia-allied separatists.

In the Kharkiv region, further north, three people were wounded when a rocket hit a residential building, the president’s office said.

Three more grain ships left Ukraine under Istanbul deal

Three more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the Türkiye-brokered grain export deal, the Turkish National Defence Ministry has said.

A ministry statement, which did not disclose its point of departure or destination, said shipments from Ukrainian ports are continuing as planned.

Zelenskyy: Ukraine retakes certain heights from Russia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has marked progress in a counteroffensive that Ukraine began last week, thanking his forces for taking two settlements in the south, a third in the east, as well as additional territory in the east of the country.

He did not say precisely where the territories were and provided no timeline except to say that he had received "good reports" at a meeting on Sunday from his military commanders and head of intelligence.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy thanked his forces for liberating a settlement in the eastern Donetsk region, the taking of "certain heights" also in an eastern area in the Lysychansk-Siversk direction and for liberating two southern settlements.

Ukraine opens investigation into explosion incident

A criminal investigation was opened into an explosion of a grenade launcher at a children's event in Chernihiv that wounded several people.

At least 15 people, including eight children, were wounded in the accident at an unplanned exhibition of military equipment on Saturday in the northern Ukrainian city, local officials said. Four remained in the hospital on Sunday.

"Two people who were directly involved in the tragic incident in Chernihiv were detained on suspicion of committing a criminal offence," Zelenskyy said. "The State Bureau of Investigation is carrying out criminal proceedings."

For live updates from Sunday (September 4), click here