October 6, 2020 Russia-Ukraine news

The head of the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog is set to arrive in Kyiv Thursday to discuss creating a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the facility a federal asset.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will hold “talks aimed at agreeing and implementing a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant) as soon as possible," according to an IAEA press release. Grossi will also visit Russia, it added.

“The need for a Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone (NSSPZ) around ‪#Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is now more urgent than ever," he tweeted Wednesday alongside photos from his journey to the Ukrainian capital.

Separately, there are plans to restart one of the six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which "are currently cold in shutdown," according to the IAEA news release.

Senior Ukrainian operating staff told IAEA experts at the complex that arrangements are underway to start the reactor at a lower level of power to create steam and heat necessary for the plant.

"It will take some time to complete all preparations, including those related to necessary systems and equipment, before reactor operations can resume," the press release said.

Some background: Grossi's trip to Kyiv comes amid heated confrontation over the status of the plant, after Putin signed a decree on Wednesday that puts Zaporizhzhia nuclear power under Russian state control.

Just as Putin was signing the decree, the Ukrainian state nuclear operator, Energoatom, said its president would assume the duties of the plant's director general -- which has led the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to intervene.

The plant in the southeastern Ukrainian region is the largest in Europe and has been held by Russian forces for more than seven months, but is operated by its Ukrainian staff.

The Kremlin's annexation of Zaporizhzhia and three other Ukrainian regions has been widely condemned by the international community as "a sham" and is illegal under international law.

Moscow does not have full control of the land it claims to have annexed, holding just under three-quarters of Zaporizhzhia.

Kremlin does not have the “exact numbers” of people who have fled Russia’s partial mobilization, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

Dmitry Peskov was asked about a Forbes Russia report – unconfirmed by CNN – that cited sources close to the Kremlin as saying 700,000 Russians had left the country since President Vladimir Putin announced a mobilization drive on Sept. 21.

“I do not have exact numbers, but they are far from 700,000,” Peskov said during his daily call with journalists.

The Swedish Security Police confirmed “detonations” were the source of damage to both Nord Stream pipelines, after concluding their crime scene investigation into gas leaks that were discovered more than a week ago.

Detonations had caused “extensive damage” to the pipelines in the Swedish economic zone, the Security Police said on Thursday, adding that their investigation had strengthened “suspicions of gross sabotage.”

News of the leaks sparked furore among several European leaders, who said sabotage appeared to be the likely cause. At the time President Joe Biden called the leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines a “deliberate act of sabotage," though he stopped short of directly accusing Moscow for the leaks.

Russia, which built the network, did not rule it out.

Why this matters: Both pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between European capitals and Moscow that has pummeled major Western economies, sent gas prices soaring and sparked a hunt for alternative energy supplies.

According to the Swedish police “certain seizures” had also been made as part of the investigation and were now being reviewed and analysed.

A continuing investigation would also show whether “someone can be served with suspicion and later prosecuted” the police statement said. 

Following the conclusion of the investigation, the cordons around the scene were lifted, the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office confirmed in a statement.

CNN's Chris Liakos, Allie Malloy and Maegan Vazquez contributed reporting to this post.

A series of fatal Russian missile attacks have hit residential blocks in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, following Moscow's claimed annexation of the wider Zaporizhzhia region.

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog is set to arrive in Kyiv Thursday to discuss creating a protection zone around the nearby power plant, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the Zaporizhzhia facility a Russian federal asset.

Here are the latest developments:

Samantha Power, the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced a $55 million investment in Ukraine’s heating infrastructure, as the war-torn country braces for a grim winter.

“This assistance will support repairs and maintenance of pipes and other equipment necessary to deliver heating to homes, hospitals, schools, and businesses across Ukraine," according to a USAID statement.

“The new USAID assistance will directly benefit up to seven million Ukrainians in 19 regions,” it said.

“USAID will also provide power generators and alternative fuel sources to hospitals, centers for internally-displaced persons, and shelters for socially vulnerable citizens, helping provide Ukrainians with access to warm shelter during winter.

"The assistance will target parts of Ukraine that have been devastated by Putin’s war, including the regions of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhya, and Zhytomyr," the statement added.

Power arrived in the Ukrainian capital Thursday to meet a range of people, the US Embassy said in a post on Facebook.

Some background: The Biden administration has emerged as a staunch ally to Kyiv after Moscow launched its military assault on Ukraine earlier this year.

Since the beginning of Russia's invasion in late-February, the US has committed more than $16 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.

Last week the Pentagon announced $1.1 billion in extra military aid to Ukraine, which a senior defense official called a “multiyear investment” in the country’s defenses.

Deadly missile attacks on Zaporizhzhia have been followed up by another strike on the Ukrainian city, local officials said Thursday.

The alleged bombardment came several hours after pre-dawn missile attacks on the southern Ukrainian city left one person dead and seven hospitalised, including a three-year-old girl.

“Attention! There is another enemy missile attack. Stay in shelters!” Oleksandr Starukh said in a post on Telegram addressed to residents. 

The pre-dawn bombardment comprised of seven missiles, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

“So far, it is known about the death of one woman,” Starukh said in a separate Telegram post of the pre-dawn attack. “Seven people were injured…They were hospitalised, including one three-year-old child. The rescue operation is still ongoing.”

Starukh had initially said two women had been killed, but revised the death toll and said the second had survived.

The first attack hit high-rise residential buildings as people slept, Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Anatoliy Kurtiev said on his Telegram channel. Among the damaged infrastructure was a flattened apartment building, according to photos posted on social media by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Zaporizhzhia is a major city in southern Ukraine, not far from the front line as Kyiv makes sweeping advances across the country's southern and eastern regions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the documents on the illegal annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, completing the last step of the annexation process, based on the Russian legal system. The annexation is illegal under international law. 

Moscow only has partial control of the Ukrainian land it claims to have annexed, with just over 70% of the Zaporizhzhia region under Russian occupation.

Two women died and at least five people were trapped in rubble after Russian missiles hit buildings in the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine early Thursday, Oleksandr Starukh, head of the regional military administration, said in a post on Telegram. 

The acting Mayor of Zaporizhzhia, Anatoly Kurtev, said in a separate Telegram post that eight people had been hospitalized. 

Zaporizhzhia is one of the regions of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed — in violation of international law and the protests of Western governments.

Russian forces fired several missiles on the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine on Thursday, Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said in a post on Telegram.

He said fires broke out in the Ukrainian-controlled city as a result of the attack, and "residential buildings were destroyed."

Acting Mayor of Zaporizhzhia, Anatoly Kurtev, also said residential buildings were on fire in a post on Telegram on Thursday.

It's unclear whether there are casualties, but Starukh said "rescue teams are working" to determine that.

Some context: Zaporizhzhia is one of four areas of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed — in violation of international law and despite the protests of Western governments.

Russia has declined to clarify the borders of the territories it claims to have annexed and is not even in full control of these regions — with Kyiv's forces making rapid advances in their counteroffensive across Ukraine's south and east.

Moscow only controls just under three quarters of the southeastern region, not including the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, which is situated along the Dnieper River -- 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the local nuclear power plant that bears its name.

The power plant has been the site of heavy fighting in recent weeks and has been under Russian military control for months.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin also claimed the facility as Russian federal property after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree amending the Constitution to admit new regions into the Russian Federation. Just as Putin was signing the decree, the Ukrainian state nuclear operator, Energoatom, said its president would assume the duties of the plant's director general. 

The confrontation over the status of the plant and the intense shelling that has damaged numerous installations has led the UN nuclear watchdog to intervene. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Wednesday that he was traveling to Kyiv.

"The need for a Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone (NSSPZ) around #Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is now more urgent than ever," he tweeted at the time.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that more settlements in the south of Ukraine have been liberated amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region.

The communities of Novovoskrensenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka had been recaptured, he said in his daily address, suggesting that Ukrainian forces are making progress through the largely rural hinterland of Kherson. 

However, Ukrainian forces remain some distance from Kherson's capital and other strategically important areas.