Russia strikes city home to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Ukraine says
Russian forces fired at Enerhodar, the city where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located, according to Ukraine’s armed forces.
Russian forces are shelling the residential quarters of the city. Cars and houses of civilians are burning,” the military said alongside footage purportedly from the attack published to its official Telegram account
In the footage multiple cars can be seen engulfed in flames as firefighters rush to extinguish the blaze.
The chief of staff of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, also appeared to confirm the reports late on Sunday on his Telegram channel alongside a video of fire fighters dousing burning cars.
“They provoke and try to blackmail the world,” chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.
Russian forces have pounded Ukrainian towns across the river from the plant over recent days, officials have said.
Regional governor Oleksandr Starukh said on Telegram on Sunday that Russian forces struck residential buildings in the main city of Zaporizhzhia, about a two-hour drive from the plant, and the town of Orikhiv further east.
Ukraine’s military reported shelling of nine more towns in the area on the opposite side of the Dnipro river, while the Russian state news agency cited authorities as saying they had downed a Ukrainian drone which planned to attack the nuclear-waste storage facility at the plant.
UN nuclear watchdog to visit Zaporizhzhia plant this week
The UN nuclear watchdog will visit Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant this week, its director general has confirmed.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, Rafael Grossi, tweeted early this morning:
The day has come, the IAEA’s support and assistance mission to Zaporizhzhia (ISAMZ) is now on its way. We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility. Proud to lead this mission which will be in ZNPP later this week.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
I’m Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments for the next short while. Whether you’ve been following our coverage overnight or you’ve just dropped in, here are the latest lines.
The UN nuclear watchdog will visit Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant this week, its director general has confirmed. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, Rafael Grossi, said “the day has come” for a support mission to protect the safety and security of Europe’s largest nuclear facility and officials will visit the site “later this week.”
Russian forces fired at Enerhodar, the city where the plant is located, late on Sunday night, according to Ukraine’s armed forces.
The strike comes after Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, held a meeting with representatives of Ukraine’s defence and security sectors on Sunday.
It is 8am in Kyiv. Here is where we stand: