After the emergency closure of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, occupied by Russian troops, the situation there remains extremely tense. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Moscow complained that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was “just a step away from a nuclear catastrophe” a second time because of Russian provocations. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today wishes to report the results of its fact-finding mission to Zaporizhia.

Today is the 195th day of defense against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. One of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will hand over his post to Liz Truss – the new leader of the Conservative Party.

Unsafe situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Ukrainian power plant operator Enerhoatom fought off concerns late Monday that control over radiation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant had been lost. Just because of the internet failure the previous day, no radiation measurement data was sent to the responsible authorities for a short period of time.

At the nuclear power plant, which has been threatened by weeks of fighting, the sixth and final reactor was shut down on Monday due to a fire in a high-voltage line. Connections to Ukraine’s power grid were cut for the second time since August 25. The IAEA, citing Ukrainian information, announced that the backup power connection to the combined heat and power plant had been turned off to extinguish the fire.

President Zelenskyy attributed the damage to shootings by Russian troops. “Russia only interested in a situation that remains as bad as possible for as long as possible,” he said in his evening video address. “This can only be remedied by tightening sanctions.” For weeks, Russia and Ukraine have been preparing for the impact. Artillery shells at nuclear power plants are mutually responsible. The information you provide generally can hardly be independently checked.

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Due to the great concern of the international community, IAEA experts visited Zaporizhia last week. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi would like to publish the mission report today and present it to the Security Council in New York in the evening.

Ongoing Russian offensive on Donbass

According to the General Staff in Kyiv, Russian troops again shelled dozens of places in the Donbass with artillery and aircraft. The evening report by Ukraine’s military leadership also lists eight places in the east where the Russian offensive has been repelled. This includes the area around the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, where Russian advances have stalled for weeks.

According to local authorities, a Russian rocket hit a fuel depot near the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih. The shelling also hit other places in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine. One woman was killed and three others injured, he said.

Ukraine hopes for Johnson’s successor Truss

Ukraine hopes that close cooperation with Great Britain will continue under Prime Minister Truss in the future, Zelenskyy said in his video speech. “We know him well. He has always been on the bright side of European politics.”

Earlier he said goodbye to Prime Minister Johnson who was about to come out with emotional words. “They say that there are no friends in politics. But Boris – that’s the case where you hit it off right away.” He thanked Johnson on behalf of all Ukrainians for his solidarity. “Boris has been with us since the first minutes of Russia’s all-out war in Ukraine and Europe.”

Under Johnson’s leadership, Britain has provided Ukraine with strong military, political and financial support against Russia. Since the start of the war on February 24, the prime minister has traveled to Kyiv three times.

Gazprom talks about design flaws in German turbines

The Kremlin on Monday blamed the West for a lack of gas supplies and demanded that sanctions against Russia be lifted. Gas giant Gazprom points to a technical reason that makes it impossible to transport gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea: The Siemens Energy turbine can be dangerous due to a design flaw and cannot be operated under Russian law. There is a risk of fire and explosion.

As feared overseas, Gazprom discontinued gas supplies to Europe on Saturday following scheduled turbine maintenance. The company confirmed this with an alleged oil leak from the unit. The problem has also been observed in other turbines of this type, Gazprom explains. This indicates that an error has been made in the construction.

Siemens Energy rejected the representation. A spokesman said the reported findings were not a reason to halt operations. “Such leaks usually do not affect turbine operation and can be closed on site.” The federal government regards the alleged technical problems with the Nord Stream 1 as a Russian pretext.

It will be important today

Russian President Vladimir Putin is traveling in his country’s Far East. Among other things, he wanted to attend a major military maneuver there, in which soldiers from China and India also took part.

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