Live blog: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in 'stable' physical condition — IAEA

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

1616 GMT — Ukraine's frontline Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is in a physically "stable" condition at the moment, the head of the United Nations nuclear energy watchdog (IAEA) has said.

The plant has been at the centre of fighting since it was captured by Russian forces in March 2022, and both Moscow and Kiev have accused each other of compromising its safety.

"The physical integrity of the plant has been relatively stable," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said after visiting the Russian-controlled plant.

"There have been less episodes of direct attacks or shelling around it, which is a positive development, although we take it with enormous caution," he said.

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1627 GMT — Ukraine calls for 'urgent' military help after fresh Russian strikes

Ukraine has urged the West to speed up and increase deliveries of artillery shells after a "massive" new Russian missile attack on Kiev and other regions killed at least five people and wounded more than 40.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced "another massive attack" by Russia, which targeted a residential high-rise building in Kiev, where five people were killed, as well as the south and west of the country.

1547 GMT — 'Vital' for US to agree on continued Ukraine support: NATO

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that it is "vital" the United States reaches political agreement to send more aid to Ukraine.

"It is vital that the United States Congress agrees on continued support for Ukraine in the near future," he said at a joint news conference with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

1544 GMT — US 'can and will' deliver more Ukraine aid: top advisor

The White House is focused on getting Ukraine aid package through the US Congress, Sullivan has said, adding there was no "plan B".

The United States "can and will" deliver further military aid to Ukraine, Sullivan vowed as NATO's chief stressed such support was "vital".

"We believe we still can and will deliver aid for Ukraine," Sullivan told reporters during the joint press conference with Stoltenberg.

1508 GMT — Seven Ukraine-launched rockets, two drones over Belgorod region destroyed: Russia

Russia's air defence systems have destroyed seven Ukraine-launched rockets and two drones over the southwestern region of Belgorod, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

The Ukrainian strike was carried out with Czech-made Vampire rockets, the ministry said — the same type which, according to Moscow, was used in deadly strikes on the city of Belgorod in late December.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two people had been injured.

1443 GMT — Ukraine urges EU to speed up artillery shell supplies

Ukraine has urged the European Union to take "urgent steps" to increase deliveries of artillery shells, whose stocks Kiev says are desperately needed to defend the frontline against Russia.

Securing the shells has been a priority for Kiev, which is burning through its reserves as Russia throws manpower and resources in a bid to make territorial gains.

1417 GMT — Situation with US aid to Kiev 'confusing': Ukraine FM

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that the situation with renewed US funding to Kiev was "confusing", as Republican lawmakers resist passing a fresh aid package to the war-torn country.

"Everything is very confusing," Kuleba said during a press conference with the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell in Kiev.

"Everyday we work with the American side, mostly not publicly, we are working to ensure that this decision is made as soon as possible."

1400 GMT — Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviews Putin: Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Kremlin has confirmed. It is Putin's first interview to a Western journalist since his full-scale offensive in Ukraine two years ago.

Carlson released a video from Moscow on Tuesday in which he said he would be interviewing Putin. Carlson claimed that Western journalists had interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy multiple times but could not be “bothered” to interview the Russian president.

1209 GMT — Ukraine lawmakers advance key mobilisation bill

Ukraine's parliament has tentatively backed a bill aimed at drafting more soldiers into the army, a deeply divisive proposal in a nation exhausted by fighting.

After refusing outright to debate the bill last month, 243 lawmakers approved the measure in its first reading on Wednesday. The process of making it law could take weeks.

"This is not a final decision. There will be a second reading, amendments will be made to it," opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko said on Telegram.

The original version of the bill, introduced by the government in December, would make it harder to avoid the draft and lower the age of military service from 27 to 25.

1132 GMT — Goals of Russia's operation in Ukraine unchanged — Kremlin

The Kremlin has said that the goals of what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine remain unchanged nearly two years after President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops to fight there.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's objectives in Ukraine were still relevant, before describing what they were.

"Demilitarisation, denazification, (and) ensuring the safety of people living in those regions that have already become Russian, protecting them from direct attacks and actually saving their lives," Peskov told reporters on a conference call.

"In addition, in a broader sense, it is to ensure the security of the Russian Federation against the background of attempts to destroy Ukraine's neutral status, suck it into NATO, and further drag NATO's military infrastructure closer to our country's borders," added Peskov.

1042 GMT — Russian senators ask ministry to ready a retaliatory law in case West moves on Russian assets: TASS

Russia's upper house of parliament has asked the Finance Ministry to draw up a law that would impose retaliatory measures on the West if it moves against frozen Russian assets, the TASS state news agency has reported.

The Financial Times reported on Feb. 3 that the G7 had drawn up plans to use frozen Russian assets as collateral to raise money to help Ukraine.

The Kremlin on Monday warned the West that any attempt to use frozen Russian assets in such a way would be illegal and undermine the global financial system.

1041 GMT — Sweden closes probe into explosions on Nord Stream pipelines, saying it doesn't have jurisdiction

Swedish officials have said that they have decided to close their investigation into the September 2022 explosions on the underwater Nord Stream gas pipelines which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany, saying they don't have jurisdiction.

Sweden's investigation was only one of three into the explosions. Denmark and Germany are also examining the blasts.

The attack, which happened as Europe attempted to wean itself off Russian energy sources following the Russia-Ukraine war, contributed to tensions that followed the start of the conflict. The source of the sabotage has been a major international mystery.

1035 GMT — Russia says it struck positions of presidential brigade of National Guard of Ukraine

The Russian Defence Ministry said that the air forces and artillery units carried out multiple strikes at the position of the 1st Presidential Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine fighting in the Donetsk region.

"The air strikes and artillery fire hit the strongholds and places of concentration of manpower of the 1st Brigade of the President of Ukraine, the 58th motorised infantry, and 72nd mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of Urozhodny, Vuhledar, and Dobropillia," Alexander Gordeyev, the head of the press center of the Russian group of forces Vostok said in a video statement.

Separately, the Defence Ministry claimed that "the Russian military improved their position along the front edge in the South Donetsk direction."

1029 GMT — Russia attacks targets across Ukraine with missiles and drones as EU's top diplomat visits Kiev

Russia fired cruise and ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones at six regions across Ukraine, authorities reported, killing at least five civilians and injuring 25 others, including a pregnant woman.

The attacks targeted at least three major cities, including the capital Kiev, where the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, was discussing military aid and financial support for Ukraine.

He said he started his day in an air raid shelter, calling it part of Ukraine's "daily reality" after almost two years of war.

0702 GMT — Several UNSC members call on Russia to withdraw forces from Ukraine

Several UN Security Council member countries have called on Russia to withdraw its forces from Russia, as the war will enter its third year later this month.

"We renew our calls for Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine's internationally recognised borders," Robert Wood, deputy permanent representative of the US to the UN, told a UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security.

"We do know this: The Kremlin bears full responsibility for the unconscionable death and destruction brought about as a consequence of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine, in violation of the UN Charter," he said.

0522 GMT — Russia launches missile attack on Kiev, other Ukrainian cities: Ukraine's air force

Russia launched a missile strike on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities during morning rush hours, Ukraine's Air Force said, with several blasts heard in the country's capital when air defence systems were engaged in repelling the attack.

The loud blasts were heard in Kiev just before 0500 GMT, Reuters' witnesses reported.

Kiev's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app that air defence systems were engaged. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties or damage as a result of the attack.

0353 GMT — Germany wants to prevent Russia from destabilising West Balkans: defence minister

Germany wants to prevent Russia from destabilising the Western Balkans region, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said.

''We want to prevent Russia from causing an additional crisis, destabilisation, from abusing this region to expand its influence, hoping to destabilise the West in this way," Pistorius said in Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo.

"Germany will support the engagement of (Operation) EUFOR Althea. It is very important that the forces can remain in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I am looking forward to how they are welcomed here because they also contribute to a safe environment for the necessary reforms,'' he added.

The European Union Force (EUFOR) Operation Althea is the EU's peacekeeping mission in the country.

0131 GMT — Opposing Ukraine aid bill is playing into Putin's hands: Biden

President Joe Biden has said that Congress will be doing the Kremlin's bidding if it fails to renew funding for Ukraine's fight against Russia — and blamed Donald Trump for playing politics with US national security.

The US president called out Trump for pressuring Republican lawmakers not to pass a $118B that would fund Ukraine’s military in return for strict US immigration curbs, a Republican demand.

0108 GMT — Civilian casualties in Ukraine surge in past two months: UN

A UN official has expressed concern over a recent rise in civilian casualties in Ukraine since the start of the war with Russia in 2022.

"The number of civilian casualties in Ukraine significantly increased in December and January compared with previous months, reversing a trend of decreasing civilian casualties throughout 2023," Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, told a UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security.

She added that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) verified that 158 civilians were killed and 483 injured in January.

Since the start of the war in February 2022, the OHCHR has recorded 30,041 civilian casualties with 10,382 killed, including 579 children, and 19,659 people injured, including 1,285 children, DiCarlo said.

0044 GMT — 'Very good' deals worked on for Putin's visit to N. Korea: Russian envoy

Russia and North Korea are working on a "very good" package of agreements to be signed when President Vladimir Putin visits Pyongyang, Russia's envoy to North Korea told the Russian TASS state news agency.

"There has been no discussion yet about the timing of the visit," TASS cited the ambassador, Alexander Matsegora, as saying. "Its preparation is now limited only to work on joint documents that are planned to be signed during the visit. I think that this will be a very good package."

Russia's steps towards closer ties with North Korea after Western sanctions on Moscow over its assault on Ukraine in 2022 have met with warnings from the United States of "growing and dangerous" military cooperation between the two.

For our live updates from Tuesday, February 6 click here.