G7 leaders ‘urge Russia to immediately return full control’ of nuclear facility to Ukraine, in a statement released on Saturday
What we know on day 242 of Russia’s invasion
The Group of Seven industrialised nations condemned Russia’s kidnapping of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant leadership and called for the immediate return of full control of the facility to Ukraine.
“We condemn Russia’s repeated kidnapping of Ukrainian ZNPP [Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant] leadership and staff,” Reuters reported the G7 nonproliferation directors general as saying in a statement on Saturday.
We urge Russia to immediately return full control of the ZNPP to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine.
Russian-installed authorities have ordered all residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to leave “immediately” ahead of an expected advance by Ukrainian troops waging a counteroffensive to recapture it. The regional pro-Kremlin administration called on civilians to use boat crossings over a major river to move deeper into Russian-held territory, citing a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged “terror attacks” by Kyiv, Associated Press reported. On Friday, Ukrainian forces bombarded Russian positions across the region, targeting resupply routes.
More than a dozen Russian missiles pounded energy facilities and other infrastructure across Ukraine on Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said, with strikes causing blackouts in parts of different regions. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Russian attacks had struck on a “very wide” scale, Reuters reported. He pledged that his military would improve on an already good record of downing missiles with help from its partners.
Russian military forces targeted energy facilities in western Ukraine, the country’s power grid operator said on Saturday. Ukrenergo said on Telegram that the “scale of damage is comparable or may exceed the consequences of the attack on October 10-12”. It said repair crews were starting to repair the facilities after the rocket attack, but that restrictions were in place as they tried to restore the electricity supply.
Hundreds of thousands of people in central and western Ukraine have woken up to power outages and periodic bursts of gunfire, as Ukrainian air defence tried to shoot down drones and incoming missiles. Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, said 1.5 million people were without electricity after Russian strikes against power stations on Saturday.
Ukraine’s prime minister said that Russia has plunged Ukraine into a humanitarian catastrophe by attacking its energy infrastructure. Denys Shmyhal told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine that Russia wanted to condemn Ukraine to “a cold winter when many people could literally freeze to death”.
Ukrainian forces have pushed Russians out of the Charivne and Chkalove settlements in the Kherson region, the Ukrainian forces’ general staff said on Saturday.
Iran’s foreign ministry has strongly condemned a call by France, Germany and Britain for the UN to investigate accusations that Russia has used “kamikaze” drones from Iran to attack Ukraine. Kyiv says Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones. If true, the allegations would mark a breach of UN security council resolution 2231.
Continue reading…G7 leaders ‘urge Russia to immediately return full control’ of nuclear facility to Ukraine, in a statement released on SaturdayWhat we know on day 242 of Russia’s invasionThe Group of Seven industrialised nations condemned Russia’s kidnapping of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant leadership and called for the immediate return of full control of the facility to Ukraine.“We condemn Russia’s repeated kidnapping of Ukrainian ZNPP [Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant] leadership and staff,” Reuters reported the G7 nonproliferation directors general as saying in a statement on Saturday.We urge Russia to immediately return full control of the ZNPP to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine.Russian-installed authorities have ordered all residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to leave “immediately” ahead of an expected advance by Ukrainian troops waging a counteroffensive to recapture it. The regional pro-Kremlin administration called on civilians to use boat crossings over a major river to move deeper into Russian-held territory, citing a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged “terror attacks” by Kyiv, Associated Press reported. On Friday, Ukrainian forces bombarded Russian positions across the region, targeting resupply routes.More than a dozen Russian missiles pounded energy facilities and other infrastructure across Ukraine on Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said, with strikes causing blackouts in parts of different regions. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Russian attacks had struck on a “very wide” scale, Reuters reported. He pledged that his military would improve on an already good record of downing missiles with help from its partners.Russian military forces targeted energy facilities in western Ukraine, the country’s power grid operator said on Saturday. Ukrenergo said on Telegram that the “scale of damage is comparable or may exceed the consequences of the attack on October 10-12”. It said repair crews were starting to repair the facilities after the rocket attack, but that restrictions were in place as they tried to restore the electricity supply.Hundreds of thousands of people in central and western Ukraine have woken up to power outages and periodic bursts of gunfire, as Ukrainian air defence tried to shoot down drones and incoming missiles. Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, said 1.5 million people were without electricity after Russian strikes against power stations on Saturday.Ukraine’s prime minister said that Russia has plunged Ukraine into a humanitarian catastrophe by attacking its energy infrastructure. Denys Shmyhal told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine that Russia wanted to condemn Ukraine to “a cold winter when many people could literally freeze to death”.Ukrainian forces have pushed Russians out of the Charivne and Chkalove settlements in the Kherson region, the Ukrainian forces’ general staff said on Saturday.Iran’s foreign ministry has strongly condemned a call by France, Germany and Britain for the UN to investigate accusations that Russia has used “kamikaze” drones from Iran to attack Ukraine. Kyiv says Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones. If true, the allegations would mark a breach of UN security council resolution 2231. Continue reading…