Live blog: Zelenskyy, Biden discuss 'further steps' in Ukraine conflict

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Zelenskyy: Discussed with Biden next steps in the conflict

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had "a great conversation" with US President Joe Biden on Thursday and thanked him for his support in the conflict with Russia.

"We discussed Ukraine's further steps on our path to the victory over the aggressor and (the) importance of holding Russia accountable for war crimes," he tweeted in English.

US: Any Russian bid to divert Ukraine nuclear energy 'unacceptable'

The United States has condemned any Russian bid to divert energy from Ukraine where authorities said the giant Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was cut off from its national grid.

"The electricity that it produces rightly belongs to Ukraine and any attempt to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian power grid and redirect to occupied areas is unacceptable," State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

Separately, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Russia should agree to a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Regular power line to Zaporizhzhia plant restored, Ukraine tells IAEA

The last regular power line supplying electricity to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine is working again after having been cut earlier on Thursday, the UN nuclear watchdog said, citing Ukraine.

"Ukraine told the IAEA that the ZNPP, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, at least twice lost connection to the power line during the day but that it was currently up again," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement, adding that information on the direct cause of the outage was not immediately available.

The plant, Europe's largest, was seized by Russia in March and remains close to the frontline. It has come under repeated fire in recent weeks, raising fears of a nuclear disaster, with both Russia and Ukraine accusing each other of shelling it.

Nuclear watchdog could visit Russian-held plant in coming days: Ukraine

The International Atomic Energy Agency could travel to Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for a mission in southern Ukraine in the coming days, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Thursday.

"A visit is planned. We are talking about the coming days — definitely no later than the beginning of September," Galushchenko told Reuters news agency in an interview in Kiev.

Galushchenko told Reuters it was vital the IAEA mission was able to see what was happening at the plant.

Putin signs decree to increase size of Russian armed forces

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the size of Russia's armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million as its attack against Ukraine enters its seventh month.

The increase includes a 137,000 boost in the number of combat personnel to 1.15 million. It comes into effect on January 1, according to the decree published on the government's legislative portal.

While the decree does not outline the reasons for the increase, it comes as Moscow's troops are focused on capturing territories in eastern Ukraine. It also comes at a time of soaring tensions between Moscow and Western countries that have sanctioned Russia over its operation in Ukraine.

Ukraine nuclear plant disconnected from grid: Operator

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under occupation by Russian troops has been disconnected from the national power supply, the state energy operator has said.

"The actions of the invaders caused a complete disconnection of the (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant) from the power grid — the first in the history of the plant," Energoatom said on Telegram.

Energoatom said fires broke out in the ash pits of a coal power station near the Zaporizhzhia reactor complex — Europe's largest nuclear facility — and interfered with power lines connecting the plant to the grid. "As a result, the station's two working power units were disconnected from the network," it said in a statement.

Death toll in train station attack in Ukraine rises to 25

The death toll from a Russian rocket attack on a train station and the surrounding area on Ukraine's Independence Day climbed to 25, including at least two children, Ukrainian authorities said. 

Russia said it targeted a military train and claimed to have killed more than 200 Ukrainian reservists.

Russian opposition politician placed under de-facto house arrest

A Russian court has placed opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman under conditions similar to house arrest as he awaits trial on charges of "discrediting" the Russian army.

One of the last opposition figures still in the country and not behind bars, the former mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg was detained for his comments about Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.

A court in Yekaterinburg on Thursday ruled to place Roizman under "restricted movement" -— conditions similar to house arrest — until September 29, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Roizman, 59, is allowed to leave his place of residence for only one minute a day, he can't attend public events, use the internet, or send and receive letters. He is only allowed to communicate with close family members, his lawyer and investigators.

Poland says grave with WWII soldiers is destroyed by Belarus

Poland's government alleged that authorities in neighbouring Belarus were leveling a memorial site containing the graves of Polish resistance fighters who died battling Soviet soldiers during World War II. 

Lukasz Jasina, the spokesperson for Poland's Foreign Ministry, said on Twitter that a cemetery in Surkonty — a village where members of Poland's largest wartime resistance force, the Home Army, fought Soviet army troops on August 21, 1944 — was being “devastated by the services of the Minsk regime.”

Belarus to stage territorial defence drills on Saturday

Belarus will hold military drills for reserves and conscripts in the country's territorial defence units on Saturday, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The exercises will focus on strengthening protections around the capital Minsk, the defence ministry said.

Latvia removes controversial Soviet monument

Latvia dismantled a Soviet-era monument in its capital city Riga following Russia's attacks on Ukraine, despite protests from the Baltic state's ethnic Russian minority to keep it. 

Demolition machinery was used to remove the 79-metre World War II memorial, which has become a rallying point for the Kremlin's supporters in Latvia. 

Latvia, like fellow Baltic states Estonia and Lithuania, is a NATO and EU member that has shown strong support for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.

Russia claims killing Ukraine troops in rail strike

Russia's defence ministry has said that it killed over 200 Ukrainian troops in a railway station attack in central Ukraine that Kiev said left 25 people, including children, dead.

"As a result of a direct hit by an Iskander missile on a military train at the Chaplyne railway station in the Dnipropetrovsk region, more than 200 servicemen of the reserve of Ukraine's Armed Forces and 10 units of military equipment were destroyed," the ministry said in its daily briefing.

It added that the train was "en route to combat zones" in the eastern Donbass region that Moscow seeks to fully control. 

Russia's use of cluster bombs in Ukraine extensive: Monitor

Russia has widely used cluster bombs in Ukraine, causing hundreds of civilian casualties and damaging homes, schools and hospitals, the monitoring body Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) said in an annual report.

"Russia's extensive use of internationally-banned cluster munitions in Ukraine demonstrates a blatant disregard for human life, humanitarian principles and legal norms," said Mary Wareham of the Cluster Munition Monitor 2022.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine have joined the convention prohibiting the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster bombs, which has 110 states parties and 13 other signatories.

Gas, coal prices double in six months

Natural gas and coal prices on global markets have reached record levels six months into the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Natural gas prices in Europe increased by about 127.6 percent in the six months since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The EU's sanctions, the reduction in fossil fuels imported from Russia and reduced gas flow to Europe ramped up prices.

The price of coal hit its highest closing price since the conflict began at $398.45 on March 2. Supply concerns on global markets pushed coal prices higher after Russia, one of the world's largest coal-producing countries, began its offensive.

Russian, French defence ministers discuss Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has discussed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant with his French counterpart by telephone, the ministry said.

Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear plant, was captured by Russian troops in March.

It remains close to the frontline, and has come under repeated fire in recent weeks, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the plant.

UN's Bachelet calls on Putin to halt armed attacks on Ukraine

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt armed attacks on Ukraine and said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant must be demilitarised.

"The international community must insist on documentation" to be able to one day prove war crimes, added Bachelet in a speech marking the end of her term as the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights.

Ukraine plans international court to put Putin on trial

Ukrainian officials are drawing up plans to make sure Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top military commanders will be tried for launching the military offensive.

The plan for a special international tribunal to investigate Russia's alleged "crime of aggression" is being spearheaded by Andrii Smirnov, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration.

The International Criminal Court, which has been trying the gravest crimes for the past 20 years, is already investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine. But it cannot look into accusations of aggression because neither Ukraine nor Russia has ratified the Rome Statute.

This court is "the only way to make sure that the criminals who started the Ukraine war are held accountable quickly," Smirnov told the AFP news agency. "The world has a short memory. That's why I would like this tribunal to start working next year."

For live updates from Wednesday (August 24), click here