September 6, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Follow the latest news on Russia’s war in Ukraine here and read more about today’s developments in the posts below.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency, is calling for a safety zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine to prevent a nuclear disaster, stating in a report released Tuesday that it remained “gravely concerned” about the situation following its mission to the site last week. 

Here are the latest developments:

IAEA report says safety principles were violated at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and calls for safety zone: The agency emphasized the urgent need for interim measures “to prevent a nuclear accident arising from physical damage caused by military means.” To achieve this, the IAEA called for the establishment of “a nuclear safety and security protection zone.” The report added, “The IAEA is ready to start immediately the consultations leading to the urgent establishment of such a nuclear safety and security protection zone at the ZNPP,” The agency says its team saw first-hand the damage shelling has caused to the facility and “noted with concern that the shelling could have impacted safety related structures, systems and components, and could have caused safety significant impacts, loss of lives and personnel injuries.”

UN nuclear watchdog saw military vehicles and equipment inside Zaporizhzhia plant, according to report: The International Atomic Energy Agency saw Russian military equipment and personnel inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during its visit of the facility, Director General Rafael Grossi said in a report published on Tuesday. “The team observed the presence of Russian military personnel, vehicles and equipment at various places at the ZNPP, including several military trucks on the ground floor of the Unit 1 and Unit 2 turbine halls and military vehicles stationed under the overpass connecting the reactor units,” according to the report. The IAEA said the presence of military personnel and equipment creates “very challenging circumstances” for staff trying to maintain normal operations at the plant.

IAEA warns of potential interference after team saw unit of Russian nuclear agency at Zaporizhzhia plant: The IAEA said the team it sent to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine saw a unit of Russia’s nuclear agency at the facility. The IAEA inspectors “observe[d] the presence of an expert group from Rosenergoatom,” which is a unit of Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, according to a report published on Tuesday. “It was explained to the team by the Ukrainian plant staff and managers that the role of this expert group was to provide advice on nuclear safety, security, and operations to the management of the ZNPP,” the IAEA said. But “the presence of Rosatom senior technical staff could lead to interference with the normal lines of operational command or authority and create potential frictions when it comes to decision-making,” according to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

Zelensky called for the demilitarization of nuclear plant: Ukrainian President Zelensky said in his nightly address Tuesday, “The [IAEA] mission, which had visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, has presented a documentary summary of its work.”

“The report notes the presence of Russian military equipment on the territory of the NPP, emphasizes pressure on our nuclear workers, and makes clear references to the Russian military occupation. That’s good,” he said. Zelensky added, “As for IAEA Director General Grossi’s proposal to create a protection zone at the plant, we need to we need to look into the specific sense of such tool: what exactly can be considered protection? If the sense of this proposal is to demilitarize the territory of the nuclear power plant - and this is logical, because it was the Russian military presence that put the Zaporizhzhia station on the brink of a radiation disaster - then we can support such a demilitarized protection zone.”

The White House told CNN Tuesday there’s “certainly no indications” that Russian-purchased arms from North Korea have made their way to the battlefield in Ukraine, following reports earlier that Russia had begun the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from the isolated autocratic nation.

“He was buying drones from Iran, now he’s got to buy artillery rounds from North Korea,” Kirby said. “It’s an indication of how much his defense industrial establishment is suffering as a result of this war and the degree of desperation that he’s reaching out to countries like Iran and North Korea for assistance, but no indication that they’re on the battlefield right now.”  

Earlier Tuesday, a US official told CNN that Russia is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea, indicating the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions.

US Defense Department press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon Tuesday that Russia has approached North Korea to “request ammunition.”

U.S. Ambassador for Special Political Affairs, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Unites on September 6, 2022 in New York City. 

A US representative immediately called out Russia for its “song and dance” of tales in the UN Security Council, adding the invading country is exposing the world to the possibility of “nuclear catastrophe,” with regards to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Following the release of the IAEA report, the US representative told the security council “It is essential that Russia allow Ukrainian operators to implement any and all measures the IAEA team and Ukrainian operators deem important for the safe and secure operation of the plant to decrease the risk of a nuclear incident”

“Worse this is a situation entirely of Russia making,” DeLaurentis added, saying the current danger is a result of Russia’s “unprovoked” and “unlawful” invasion of Ukraine.

“Over the weekend shelling once again lead to the disconnection of an external power line putting at risk the plants operations,” the US official said

DeLaurentis also noted that Russian forces are increasing stress and duress on human operators increasing chance of “human error.’

“The potential danger here is enormous and it concerns us all,” he said.

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations continued to blame Ukraine for the shelling’s on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and claimed the report shows the plant “is functioning normally and there are no internal threats to its security” thanks to cooperation from the Russian armed forces.

The only threat created is the “shelling and sabotage from the Ukrainian armed forces” said Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, something Ukraine has consistently denied.

Ukraine blames Russia for the shelling, and accuses them of using the ZNPP as a shield.

Nebenzya peppered the IAEA director with questions about its report including questioning what “military equipment” was observed threatening the maintenance of the plant.

He also said he regretted that the source of the shelling was not named in the report.  

Nebenzya also reiterated that Russian federation ensured the safety of the IAEA operators

“We continue doing everything we can to ensure that the ZNPP works safely,” by way of technical personnel “with the support of Russian specialists.”

The radiation situation is “normal” he added.

He alleged “if provocations by the Kyiv regime continues there is no guarantee that there won’t be serious consequences and the responsibility for that lies fully with Kyiv and its western backers and all other members of security council who so far have not found in themselves the courage to call things their proper name and call on Kyiv to stop its reckless acts against the ZNPP which create a real threat to international peace and security.”

Later in the meeting, while Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency did not answer the Russian Ambassadors questions explicitly he did thank the parties involved in ensuring the success of the mission. 

Acknowledging Russia had asked questions, Grossi said, “I will be very soon approaching relevant parties with some very concrete elements for their consideration in order to try to move forward in the next logical step after this important first one which will be to establish an immediate protection to the plant.”

Ukrainian President Zelensky said in his nightly address Tuesday, “The [IAEA] mission, which had visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, has presented a documentary summary of its work.”

“The report notes the presence of Russian military equipment on the territory of the NPP, emphasizes pressure on our nuclear workers, and makes clear references to the Russian military occupation. That’s good,” he said. 

Zelensky added, “As for IAEA Director General Grossi’s proposal to create a protection zone at the plant, we need to we need to look into the specific sense of such tool: what exactly can be considered protection? If the sense of this proposal is to demilitarize the territory of the nuclear power plant - and this is logical, because it was the Russian military presence that put the Zaporizhzhia station on the brink of a radiation disaster - then we can support such a demilitarized protection zone.”

“If Russia has put the world on the brink of a radiation disaster, then the world must have adequate means to put Russia in the conditions where the terrorist state will be forced to stop terror,” the Ukrainian president said.

The IAEA director appealing to the United Nations Security Council Tuesday with regards to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant said that “we are playing with fire and something very, very catastrophic could take place.” 

“The hits that this facility has received and that I could personally see and assess together with my experts is simply unacceptable,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

On the heels of the IAEA report released Tuesday he stressed that agency inspectors remained at the site ensuring capacity for direct evaluation of the situation. 

“We in this case have the historical ethical imperative to prevent something from happening,” and establishing this presence — and in tandem establishing a safety and security protection zone — he believes they have the capacity to prevent catastrophe. 

“This is something that can be done now,” he said adding “we have the inspectors there already deployed they are doing their work.”

“We can agree on a very simple but incredibly necessary protective mechanism to avoid what is happening now as we speak which is the shelling of a nuclear power plant.” 

Addressing the UN Security Council he said it’s time to “seize this opportunity so fundamental for peace for security and to protect the populations of Ukraine and beyond.”

He reiterated agenda items of his “neutral,” and “technical” report released Tuesday in particular calling for the establishment of a nuclear safety security protection zone around the perimeter of the plant. 

The report also found operators operating under “extremely challenging circumstances together with military equipment and vehicles in different parts of it” and the IAEA called for the immediate removal of this military equipment so to not interfere.  

His report also called for operators to be able to perform without external pressures. 

The report also recommends the off site power supply line redundancy be re-established meaning all military activities that affect that power supply systems “must be stopped immediately”

He also called for uninterrupted supply chain transportation to and from the site.  

He elaborated on his reports findings and 7 recommendations earlier Tuesday to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he was the first foreign leader to speak to the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss. 

“I became the 1st foreign leader to have a conversation with the newly elected PM Liz Truss. Invited her to Ukraine,” Zelensky tweeted on Tuesday. “Thanked UK people for the major defense & economic aid for Ukraine.”

A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that a call took place between the two counterparts.

Truss spoke to her Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky on Tuesday evening, in her first call with a foreign leader after becoming the country’s leader, according to the spokesperson.  

Truss in the call reiterated the UK’s “steadfast support” for Ukraine’s freedom and democracy, the spokesperson said.  

“In her first call with a counterpart since becoming Prime Minister, she reiterated to the Ukrainian leader that he had her full backing, and Ukraine could depend on the UK’s assistance for the long term,” Downing Street noted.

Zelensky thanked Truss for the UK’s “staunch support” and congratulated the prime minister on her appointment, Downing Street said.  

“The leaders discussed the need to strengthen global security and the measures necessary to cut off the funds fuelling Putin’s war machine.”  

The two leaders “deplored Putin’s attempts to weaponise energy, and the Prime Minister said it was vital Russia’s blackmail did not deter the west from ensuring Putin fails. She also underscored the importance of ensuring the UK and our allies continue to build energy independence.”

Truss praised the Ukrainians’ fight for “sovereignty and self-determination and said it was essential Ukraine succeeds and Russia fails,” Downing Street said.  

The British leader was “delighted” to accept an invitation to visit Zelensky in Ukraine soon, it added. 

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi told CNN that there must be a differentiation between establishing a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant versus creating a “nuclear safety and security zone.”

“You have to make a differentiation here. The concept of demilitarization is a wider concept that has a geographical, it has an operational scope of a completely different nature,” Grossi said to CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour in his first television interview since returning from his visit to the plant.

“What we are talking about here is the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone immediately — which means something … perhaps more modest than a full demilitarization of the area, but extremely effective in getting commitment from all sides to avoid any aiming at the plant, any shelling at the plant, any use of any means and calibers of artillery in a direction of the plant,” Grossi continued.

He said creating this type of zone is within the IAEA’s mandate to protect the safety and security of the plant and the workers there, and that he hopes he might consult “very quickly” and “establish an interim measure.”

“What we need desperately is to protect this nuclear plant because it is being shelled,” he said. 

In his first television interview since returning from his visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour that a “very grave danger” remains. 

“The situation … continues to be very worrying,” Grossi said. “The shelling continues, so indeed, we are still facing a very grave danger.”

When Amanpour asked if there was an imminent threat — including of a possible nuclear meltdown — Grossi said he doubted that for now, but ongoing shelling posed an ongoing threat nonetheless.

Amanpour asked Grossi if the IAEA was able to determine who was behind the shelling, as both the Ukrainians and the Russians have blamed each other.

“I cannot make that determination. We do not have the means to do that. As you know, you would need to be looking or monitoring the military operation in the region and all its vastness, which is not only beyond the mandate of the IAEA, but would require enormous capabilities,” Grossi said. 

He said the IAEA’s purview and responsibility is to “look at the safety and security of the facility to determine what is really going on. This is why my visit there, the inspection there, and the fact that now I have people who have stayed, so the IAEA is staying at the plant, was essential, indispensable.”  

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Russky island in the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok on April 25, 2019.

Russia is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield in Ukraine, a US official tells CNN.

The purchase indicates that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions, according to the official.

The US expects Russia could try to buy more military equipment from North Korea going forward, the official added.

The New York Times first reported on the purchase. The two countries had formed relations through the Korean War of the 1950s, with the former Soviet Union having been a major benefactor to North Korea, financially propping the regime up. North Korea has blamed the US and the West for the war in Ukraine.

News of Moscow buying weaponry from North Korea follows a recent US assessment that Russia now possesses weapons-capable drones from Iran also likely for use in the war in Ukraine.

The US believes that Moscow officially purchased the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones — the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 — from Iran and transferred to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. The drones are capable of carrying precision guided munitions and can be used for surveillance.

 Russia has been looking to hamper Ukrainian military’s use of recently Western-supplied long-range precision artillery and rocket systems, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), on the battlefield. With the HIMARS, Ukraine has been able to precisely target and hit Russian command posts, logistical hubs and ammunition dumps well beyond the front lines.

During a briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that Russia has approached North Korea to “request ammunition.”  

The request from Russia to North Korea is “indicative of the situation Russia finds itself in,” Ryder said.

“It does demonstrate and is indicative of the situation Russia finds itself in in terms of logistics and sustainment capabilities as it relates to Ukraine,” Ryder said. “We assess that things are not going well on that front for Russia, so the fact that they’re reaching out to North Korea is a sign that they’re having some challenges on the sustainment front.”

A Ukrainian soldier takes a selfie as an artillery system fires on the front line in the Donetsk region on September 3.

The Ukrainian military repelled several Russian offensives in the eastern region of Donetsk, the army’s general staff said in a situational update on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian military also claimed the destruction of Russian targets in the Donetsk region but also along the southern front.

The US Defense Department is seeing Ukrainian offensive forces in the Kherson region “continue to make some forward movement,” including retaking villages, a Pentagon official said.

“What we’ve seen in the Kherson region first is some continued offensive operations by the Ukrainians,” said Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder at a briefing with reporters. “They continue to make some forward movement. We are aware that they have retaken some villages.”

Ryder also said that the US has seen “some offensive Russian activity … near Bakhmut.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the team it sent to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine saw a unit of Russia’s nuclear agency at the facility.

The IAEA inspectors “observe[d] the presence of an expert group from Rosenergoatom,” which is a unit of Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, according to a report published on Tuesday.

“It was explained to the team by the Ukrainian plant staff and managers that the role of this expert group was to provide advice on nuclear safety, security, and operations to the management of the ZNPP,” the IAEA said. 

“Energoatom operating teams at the plant have been able to rotate in three shifts per day, but the situation has had a negative impact on staff,” it added.

According to the IAEA, Ukrainian authorities reported that the Rosatom team arrived on April 29. 

“These specialists requested daily reports from plant management about “confidential issues” on the functioning of the NPP, covering aspects related to administration and management, maintenance and repair activities, security and access control, and management of nuclear fuel, spent fuel and radioactive waste,” according to the report.

The International Atomic Energy Agency saw Russian military equipment and personnel inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during its visit of the facility, Director General Rafael Grossi said in a report published on Tuesday. 

“The team observed the presence of Russian military personnel, vehicles and equipment at various places at the ZNPP, including several military trucks on the ground floor of the Unit 1 and Unit 2 turbine halls and military vehicles stationed under the overpass connecting the reactor units,” according to the report.

The IAEA said the presence of military personnel and equipment creates “very challenging circumstances” for staff trying to maintain normal operations at the plant.

CNN last month reported on video that showed Russian military vehicles inside a turbine hall connected to a nuclear reactor.

A Dutch passport control for trucks in the port of Hoek van Holland on January 4, 2021.

The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia, which would make it more expensive and harder for Russians to travel to EU member states. 

European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced the proposal in a news conference in Brussels, saying there is “no basis for a privileged relationship between Russia” and the European Union following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

This comes after European foreign ministers last week reached political consensus to fully suspend the visa agreement.  

Johansson stressed that the proposal will ensure that “Russia citizens will no longer enjoy privileged access to the EU.” 

Russians trying to enter the EU for tourism and leisure purposes will face a “lengthier” and “more expensive” process, the commissioner said. There will also be more restrictions for multiple entry visas, Johansson added.   

As part of this, the visa fee will increase from 35 euros ($34.66) to 80 euros ($79.23) while the deadline for a decision from consulates will increase from 10 days to 15 days. Visa applicants will also have to submit a longer list of documentary evidence when applying for a visa, according to the press release.    

Despite the suspension, the EU will remain “open to certain categories of Russian visa applicants travelling for essential purposes, including notably family members of EU citizens, journalists, dissidents and civil society representatives,” according to the news release.  

What comes next?: The commission must now wait for the European Council to consider the proposal to scrap the visa agreement in its entirety, the press release said. If approved by the European Council, the suspension will come into force on the second day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

The bloc announced in the press release that it is also proposing a “common EU approach for the non-recognition of Russian passports issued in occupied foreign regions, as Russia currently extends the practice of issuing ordinary Russian passports to more non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine, in particular the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.”  

The EU stressed that its visa facilitation agreements “are based on mutual trust and respect of common values between the EU and the given country.”  

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is incompatible with a trustful relationship and runs counter to the spirit of partnership on which Visa Facilitation Agreements are based,” the bloc added.  

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on April 27.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it remains “gravely concerned” about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine and says there is an “urgent need” for measures to prevent a nuclear accident, namely the establishment of a nuclear safety and protection zone around the Russian-occupied site, Director General Rafael Grossi said in a report following a visit to the site. 

The agency emphasized the urgent need for interim measures “to prevent a nuclear accident arising from physical damage caused by military means.”

To achieve this, the IAEA called for the establishment of “a nuclear safety and security protection zone.”

The agency says its team saw first-hand the damage shelling has caused to the facility and “noted with concern that the shelling could have impacted safety related structures, systems and components, and could have caused safety significant impacts, loss of lives and personnel injuries.”

In addition to the danger of the continued fighting around the facility, the agency says staff at Zaporizhzhia and other nuclear plants in Ukraine “have continued to show endurance and resilience in keeping the sites running in a safe and secure way amid the conflict.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has released a report about the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine, including its findings from the mission to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP).

A team of the UN agency’s inspectors visited the plant last week.

In its report, the IAEA said the team witnessed shelling during its visit and called on both sides to cease the hostilities in the area. 

It listed some damages that the inspectors observed during their mission to the plant.

The UN agency’s report recommended that shelling on site and its vicinity “should be stopped immediately to avoid any further damages to the plant and associated facilities, for the safety of the operating staff and to maintain the physical integrity to support safe and secure operation. This requires agreement by all relevant parties to the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP.”

The Russian official appointed to be the commandant for the southeastern Ukrainian city of Berdiansk was injured when his car was blown up near the building of the civil-military administration, the mayor’s office said in a telegram post on Tuesday. 

“Today, September 6, in the very center of Berdiansk, near the building of the Military Civil Administration, the car of the city commandant Artem Bardin was blown up,” the mayor’s office said. “As a result of the explosion, the city commandant was hospitalized in severe condition. Doctors are providing him with necessary medical care.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the explosion, but pro-Russian authorities blamed Ukraine.

“The terrorists of the Kyiv regime continue to try to intimidate residents of the liberated territories,” the pro-Russian mayor’s office said. 

There were not additional casualties but another three cars were damaged, authorities also said. 

As a report on the Zaporizhzhia power plant from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog after its visit last week is set to be released today, attacks continue around Ukraine.

Here are the latest headlines: