The bombings temporarily disconnected the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from Ukraine’s grid. Fires caused by the bombing cut the last remaining power line at the plant on Thursday, temporarily disconnecting it from Ukraine’s national grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation, the nuclear power firm of the country, Energoatom.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said the UN nuclear watchdog could travel to the Zaporizhzhia plant in the “coming days”. The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, previously said his team was “very, very close” to being able to go to the plant.
The White House asked Russia to agree to a demilitarized zone around the plant, after US President Joe Biden spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Biden congratulated him on the country’s 31st Independence Day, celebrated on Wednesday. Zelenskiy said they had a “great conversation” and thanked Biden for his “unwavering” support. It comes a day after Biden announced nearly $3 billion in new military assistance to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft missiles, artillery, drone defenses and radar equipment, the largest chunk of US military aid to date.
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the size of Russia’s armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million as the war in Ukraine enters its seventh month with no signs of abating. The Russian president’s decree appears to point to the country’s goal of replenishing its army, which has been badly damaged in Ukraine and has failed to achieve its goal of capturing the capital, Kyiv.
At least 25 people have been confirmed dead after a Russian rocket struck a train station in Ukraine. Russian forces attacked a train in the village of Chaplyne, Dnipropetrovsk province, on Wednesday. The deputy head of the president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, told Telegram that two children were killed in the attack. Russia has since confirmed it was behind the attack.
The mayor of the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, has said that a building allegedly used by Russian-backed officials in the region has been “blown up”. Fedorov, who is not in the city, released a video showing damage to the building, which he said was being used to plan a “pseudo-referendum” by Russian-backed authorities on whether the region should to join Russia.
Vatican diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine suffered two setbacks on Thursday when the head of the Russian Orthodox Church canceled a meeting with Pope Francis and Ukraine summoned the papal ambassador to complain about Francis’s latest comments on the war The pontiff angered Kyiv by including Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian nationalist broadcaster Alexander Dugin killed by a car bomb on Sunday, as among the “innocents” who have fallen victim to the “madness of war”. Russia has accused Ukrainian intelligence of the attack, which Ukraine denies.
Latvia tore down a Soviet-era obelisk amid backlash against Russia. The nearly 80-metre (260 ft) concrete obelisk topped by Soviet stars was the centerpiece of a monument to the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany, the latest in a series of Soviet monuments overthrown after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
UK opposition leader Keir Starmer is planning a trip to Ukraine in the coming months as he moves to cement relations with Kyiv. The Labor leader approached the government this summer about the possibility of a visit as opposition leader, with the Labor party writing a letter seen by the Guardian.