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Russia-Ukraine war: Russian strike at Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant but reactors not damaged – live updates | Ukraine

Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant struck

Reuters has more information on the Russian strike on the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in the early hours of Monday:

Russian troops struck the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region early on Monday but its reactors have not been damaged and are working normally, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom said.

A blast took place 300 metres away from the reactors and damaged power plant buildings shortly after midnight, Energoatom said in a statement. The attack has also damaged a nearby hydroelectric power plant and transmission lines.

Energoatom said:

Currently, all three power units of the PNPP (Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant) are operating normally. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the station staff

It published two photographs showing a crater it said was caused by the blast. In one of the pictures a man stood in the crater to give a sense of its size.

Commenting on the strike on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said:

The invaders wanted to shoot again, but they forgot what a nuclear power plant is. Russia endangers the whole world. We have to stop it before it’s too late.

There was no immediate Russian reaction to Ukraine’s accusations.

The Mykolaiv region has been under constant rocket attack by Russian forces in recent weeks.

Another Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia – which is Europe’s largest and lies about 250km (155 miles) east of the Mykolaiv site – was shut down earlier this month due to Russian shelling, prompting concerns about a possible nuclear disaster.

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for shelling at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which is held by Russian forces but operated by Ukrainian staff. The shelling has damaged buildings and disrupted power lines.

The UN nuclear watchdog said this weekend one of the four main power lines at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility had been repaired and was once again supplying the plant with electricity from the Ukrainian grid.

Key events

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner pictured last week. Photograph: Michael Sohn/AP

German finance minister Christian Lindner said on Monday that he was still looking at ways to ensure gas prices remained affordable for people while awaiting recommendations from a group of experts.

When asked about a possible cap on gas prices Lindner said:

We have developed this commission, but proposals within the federal government are also being considered further, so it has not been completely outsourced.”

German economy likely to shrink for ‘prolonged’ period, Bundesbank warns

The German central bank said on Monday it was increasingly likely that Europe’s largest economy would shrink for a “prolonged” period as Russia throttled energy supplies to the continent.

In its monthly report, the Bundesbank said:

The signs of a recession for the German economy are multiplying.”

It also warned of a “broad-based and prolonged decline in economic output”.

The likely slump was above all down to “supply-side constraints”, namely reduced deliveries of energy in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reports.

Moscow has drastically reduced it supplies of gas to Europe and kept the Nord Stream pipeline shut since the end of August, heaping pressure on Germany’s economy.

Germany had been highly reliant on Russian energy imports with 55% of its gas coming from Russia before the outbreak of the war.

The economy would likely shrink “slightly” in the third quarter of the year, the Bundesbank said, before a “marked” drop over the last three months of 2022 and the beginning of 2023.

The Russian gas supply stop meant that the situation regarding gas markets was “very tense”, it said.

Germany could “avoid formal rationing” of the fuel, but necessary reductions in consumption would lead companies to limit or pause production, the central bank predicted.

Thirteen people were killed in artillery shelling on Monday in the east Ukrainian separatist-held city of Donetsk, the city’s Russian-backed mayor said.

Reuters reports that in a statement posted on the Telegram messenger app, Donetsk’s separatist mayor Alexei Kulemzin said that 13 civilians including two children had been killed in the strike on Donetsk’s Kuybyshevsky district.

He said that the number of wounded was being confirmed.

Donetsk city has been controlled by the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic since 2014.

The Ukrainian army continues to hold positions on Donetsk’s outskirts, and the city has come under artillery fire repeatedly in recent months.

The Guardian is unable to verify battlefield reports.

A cross is seen at a forest grave site during an exhumation, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 18, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
A cross is seen at a forest grave site during an exhumation in Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian armed forces. Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters

The Kremlin has rejected allegations that Russian forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine’s Kharkiv province as a “lie”.

About 450 bodies, most of which Ukraine says are those of civilians, have been found in mass graves near Izium after Russian troops were this month forced out of the Kharkiv region, much of which they had controlled since the first weeks of their military campaign in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said investigators at the site had found evidence of torture, including bodies with hands tied, and accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.

Asked on Monday about Zelenskiy’s statements, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It’s the same scenario as in Bucha. It’s a lie, and of course we will defend the truth in this story.”

Russia previously rejected claims that its troops had committed war crimes in Bucha, outside Kyiv, after evidence of civilians being killed while the town was controlled by Russian troops came to light after Russia’s withdrawal at the end of March. (Via Reuters)

Last week, Zelenskiy accused Russia of “leaving death everywhere” after the discovery of the Izium site. Men in white overalls began digging out bodies last Friday as part of a mass exhumation at the site, reporters with the Reuters news agency said, and 20 white bodybags could be seen. Reuters reported that several bodies had rope tied around their necks and hands.

A police officer stands on a bottom of a shell crater left by a Russian military strike at a compound of the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Yuzhnoukrainsk, Mykolaiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 19, 2022. Press service of the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom/Handout via REUTERS
A police officer stands in a shell crater left by a Russian military strike at a compound of the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in Yuzhnoukrainsk, Ukraine. Photograph: Energoatom State Company/Reuters

Ukraine’s atomic energy operator, Energoatom, has described the Russian missile strike on the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant – see earlier post here – as an act of “nuclear terrorism”. (Via AP)

Daniel Boffey

Daniel Boffey

Scotland v Ukraine World Cup play-off semi-finalOleksandr Petrakov the Ukraine head coach giving orders late in the game during the World Cup play-off semi-final match between Scotland and Ukraine at Hampden Park on June 1st 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland (Photo by Tom Jenkins)
Oleksandr Petrakov the Ukraine head coach, during the World Cup play-off semi-final match between Scotland and Ukraine at Hampden Park in June. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Russia is urging Uefa to ban the manager of the Ukraine men’s national team after he expressed a wish to fight Vladimir Putin’s invading forces, the Guardian can reveal.

The Football Union of Russia has written to the governing body accusing Oleksandr Petrakov of discriminating against Russians and failing to remain politically neutral.

Denis Rogachev, the deputy secretary general of the FUR, cited comments carried in two newspapers – Italy’s Corriere dello Sport and Russia’s Sport Express – as evidence of Petrakov’s guilt.

In a letter to Uefa’s control, ethics and disciplinary body, Petrakov is accused of breaching codes of conduct by calling for Russians to be banned from international sport and talking about his hopes of joining the armed forces.

Full story here.

Joe BidenFILE - President Joe Biden speaks outside Independence Hall, Sept. 1, 2022, in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
President Joe Biden. Photograph: Matt Slocum/AP

The US president, Joe Biden, used an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes programme on Sunday night to warn Vladimir Putin that the use of nuclear or other non-conventional weapons against Ukraine would prompt a “consequential” response from the US.

When asked what he would tell Putin if the Russian leader was mulling such a move, he said: “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.”

Biden praised the Ukrainians for their gritty fight against the Russian invasion and said: “They’re defeating Russia”.

Asked how to define victory for Kyiv, he said: “Winning the war in Ukraine is to get Russia out of Ukraine completely.”

But given the scale of human suffering and destruction inflicted in resisting the Russian onslaught, “it’s awful hard to count that as winning”, he added.

Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant struck

Reuters has more information on the Russian strike on the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in the early hours of Monday:

Russian troops struck the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region early on Monday but its reactors have not been damaged and are working normally, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom said.

A blast took place 300 metres away from the reactors and damaged power plant buildings shortly after midnight, Energoatom said in a statement. The attack has also damaged a nearby hydroelectric power plant and transmission lines.

Energoatom said:

Currently, all three power units of the PNPP (Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant) are operating normally. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the station staff

It published two photographs showing a crater it said was caused by the blast. In one of the pictures a man stood in the crater to give a sense of its size.

Commenting on the strike on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said:

The invaders wanted to shoot again, but they forgot what a nuclear power plant is. Russia endangers the whole world. We have to stop it before it’s too late.

There was no immediate Russian reaction to Ukraine’s accusations.

The Mykolaiv region has been under constant rocket attack by Russian forces in recent weeks.

Another Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia – which is Europe’s largest and lies about 250km (155 miles) east of the Mykolaiv site – was shut down earlier this month due to Russian shelling, prompting concerns about a possible nuclear disaster.

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for shelling at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which is held by Russian forces but operated by Ukrainian staff. The shelling has damaged buildings and disrupted power lines.

The UN nuclear watchdog said this weekend one of the four main power lines at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility had been repaired and was once again supplying the plant with electricity from the Ukrainian grid.

Russian troops have struck the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in the southern Mykolaiv region, but its reactors have not been damaged and are working normally, Reuters reports.

According to Ukraine’s state nuclear company, Energoatom, a blast early on Monday took place 300 metres from the reactors and damaged power plant buildings. The attack has also damaged a nearby hydroelectric power plant and transmission lines.

In this handout photo released by Russian defence ministry press service on July 2, 2022, a Russian Su-25 ground attack jet fires rockets on a mission at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
A Russian Su-25 ground attack jet fires rockets on a mission at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian defence ministry press service via AP) Photograph: AP

Russia is highly likely to have lost at least four combat jets in Ukraine within the last 10 days, taking its attrition to about 55 since the beginning of its invasion, the British military said on Monday.

There is a realistic possibility that the increase in losses was partially a result of the Russian air force accepting greater risk in a move to provide close air support to Russian ground forces under pressure from Ukrainian advances, the defence ministry said in its daily intelligence on Twitter.

Russian pilots’ situational awareness is often poor, it said. “There is a realistic possibility that some aircraft have strayed over enemy territory and into denser air defence zones as the frontlines have moved rapidly.” (Via Reuters)

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added to the small group of countries excluded from the Queen’s funeral in London today, as AFP reports:

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin – under a travel ban to the UK due to sanctions – had already said he would not attend.

But not inviting any Russian representative to the Queen’s funeral was “particularly blasphemous towards Elizabeth II’s memory” and “deeply immoral”, the foreign ministry spokeswoman in Moscow said on Thursday.

Russia and Belarus have embassies in London and their presidents sent King Charles III messages of condolences.

Other countries with no invitations are Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Good morning. This is Sam Jones taking over now from my colleague Virginia.

Ukrainians flee shelling of Kupiansk as Russian forces try to slow advances

On Sunday, Ukrainian civilians were fleeing heavy fighting as Russia’s armed forces tried to hold off a further dramatic advance by Ukrainian troops in the north-east of the country.

As Luke Harding and Isobel Koshiw report, cars packed with families streamed out of the city of Kupiansk, which Ukraine recaptured just over a week ago as part of a stunning counter-offensive. Kupiansk, a strategic railway junction, sits on either side of the river. It is on the new frontline after Ukrainian forces on Friday crossed to the right bank. They are now poised to push further into Luhansk province, which the Kremlin and its local proxies have controlled entirely since June, and partly since 2014. Here’s the full story.

Ukrainian soldier stands in front of a Kupiansk sign
Ukrainian troops are piling pressure on retreating Russian forces and are poised to push further into Luhansk province from Kupiansk. Photograph: Kostiantyn Liberov/AP

Russian pop star speaks out against war in Ukraine

The Russian singer Alla Pugacheva has spoken out against the war in Ukraine and the “death of our boys for illusory goals”.

The remarks are the first time that the pop star, an icon in Russia, has publicly criticised the conflict.

Addressing the Russian justice ministry, Pugacheva told her 3.4 million Instagram followers: “I am asking you to include me on the foreign agents list of my beloved country.” Read more here.

Milley: “Not going too well for Russia”

The top US general on Sunday said it was still unclear how Russia might react to the latest battlefield setbacks in Ukraine and called for vigilance among US troops as he visited a base in Poland aiding Ukraine’s war effort, Reuters reported.

“The war is not going too well for Russia right now. So it’s incumbent upon all of us to maintain high states of readiness, alert,” US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Warsaw.

Milley said he was not suggesting US troops in Europe were at any increased threat, but said they had to be ready.

“In the conduct of war, you just don’t know with a high degree of certainty what will happen next.”

Some recent images from Kharkiv, Ukraine.

People receive humanitarian aid in Prykolotne village, Kharkiv, Ukraine on Sunday.
People receive humanitarian aid in Prykolotne village, Kharkiv, on Sunday. Photograph: Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA
Cars drive across a damaged bridge in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Cars drive across a damaged bridge on Sunday. Photograph: Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA
A Ukrainian flag waves above Kharkiv city on Sunday.
A Ukrainian flag waves above Kharkiv city. Photograph: Vudi Xhymshiti/VX/REX/Shutterstock
A burnt banner with Russian flag in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
A burnt banner with a Russian flag in Kharkiv. Photograph: Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA
A damaged building in Kharkiv after attacks by Russian forces.
A damaged building in Kharkiv after attacks by Russian forces. Photograph: Vudi Xhymshiti/VX/REX/Shutterstock

Russian attacks in east and south repelled, says Ukraine military

Ukrainian military said on Sunday that its forces repelled attacks by Russian troops in the areas of the Kharkiv region in the east and Kherson in south where Ukraine launched counteroffensives this month, as well as in parts of Donetsk in the south-east, Reuters reports.

It said Ukrainian troops had advanced to the eastern bank of the Oskil River in Kharkiv region.

“From yesterday, Ukraine controls the east bank,” it said on Telegram. Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the neighbouring Luhansk region, said this meant the “de-occupation” of his region was “not far away”.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Russia president Vladimir Putin is “increasingly relying on irregular volunteer and proxy forces rather than conventional units,” in its latest update on the Russian campaign.

Putin’s souring relationship with the military command and the Russian (MoD) may explain in part the Kremlin’s increasing focus on recruiting ill-prepared volunteers into ad-hoc irregular units rather than attempting to draw them into reserve or replacement pools for regular Russian combat units,” the ISW said.

Welcome

Welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Virginia Harrison and I’ll be with you for the next hour or so.

It’s just after 8am in Kyiv and these are the main developments:

  • The Ukrainian military said on Sunday that its forces repelled attacks by Russian troops in the Kharkiv region in the east and Kherson in the south, where Ukraine launched counteroffensives this month, as well as in parts of Donetsk in the south-east. It said Ukrainian troops had advanced to the eastern bank of the Oskil River in Kharkiv region. “From yesterday, Ukraine controls the east bank,” it said on Telegram.

  • Five civilians were killed in Russian attacks in the eastern Donetsk region over the past day while in Nikopol, further west, several dozen residential buildings, gas pipelines and power lines were hit, regional governors said on Sunday.

  • The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, vowed there would be no let up in fighting to regain territory lost to Russia. “Perhaps it seems to some of you that after a series of victories we now have a lull of sorts,” he said in his nightly address on Sunday. “But there will be no lull. There is preparation for the next series … For Ukraine must be free. All of it.”

  • In an intelligence update, Britain’s defence ministry said Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure, including a power grid and a dam, had intensified. “As it faces setbacks on the front lines, Russia has likely extended the locations it is prepared to strike in an attempt to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and government,” it said on Sunday.

  • Ukrainian forces are refusing to discard worn-out US-provided arms, with many reverse-engineering spare parts to continue the counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion. “They’re not willing to scrap it,” one soldier said, recalling artillery with shrapnel damage and sometimes completely worn out from firing round after round against Russian troops.

  • The Ukrainian military said Russia has deployed Iranian attack drones, the New York Times reported on Sunday. According to a Ukrainian military official who spoke to the New York Times, remnants of the Shahed-136 attack drones have been discovered on the ground during the counteroffensive that Ukraine launched in the north-eastern regions of the country this month.

  • The Ukrainian military has carried out 20 airstrikes in the past 24 hours against Russian strongholds, according to the general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Kyiv Independent reported on Sunday that Ukraine’s Air Force had successfully targeted 15 Russian strongholds and four sites, as well as seven control points.

  • The Russian singer Alla Pugacheva has spoken out against the war in Ukraine and the “death of our boys for illusory goals”. The remarks are the first time that the pop star, an icon in Russia, has publicly criticised the conflict. Addressing the Russian justice ministry, Pugacheva told her 3.4 million Instagram followers: “I am asking you to include me on the foreign agents list of my beloved country.”

  • The Georgian president, Salome Zourabichvili, levelled heavy criticism against Russia on Sunday after the discovery of mass graves in Izium last week. Zourabichvili condemned “in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Russia in Izium”, adding that “these war crimes must be answered by justice”, the Kyiv Independent reported.

  • The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said on Sunday that the mass graves discovered in Izium were evidence of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine. “Obviously the UK and Canada have been two of the strongest countries in standing up in support of Ukraine and pushing back against Russia’s illegal actions,” Trudeau told reporters in London.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/sep/19/russia-ukraine-war-live-updates-ukrainian-military-says-russian-attacks-repelled-in-kharkiv-and-kherson Russia-Ukraine war: Russian strike at Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant but reactors not damaged – live updates | Ukraine

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