Ukraine war briefing: alarm over drone attack on Zaporizhzhia power plant
Related: UN nuclear watchdog head condemns drone strike on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The UN nuclear watchdog has urged restraint after the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was attacked on Sunday. Rafael Grossi at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed at least three direct hits against the site’s main reactor containment structures. Such attacks “significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident”, he said. Russian officials at the plant claimed the site was attacked by Ukrainian military drones, including a strike on the dome of the plant’s sixth power unit. Ukraine’s intelligence agency has denied responsibility for the strike, saying Russian imitation strikes “have long been a well known criminal practice of the invaders”.
Russia has been accused of systematically using illegal chemical gas attacks against Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrainian troops claimed they had been subjected to “almost daily” attacks from small drones dropping teargas and other chemicals. The use of such substances, which is known as CS, is banned during wartime under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will make an official visit to China to discuss the war in Ukraine. Talks scheduled on Monday and Tuesday between Russia and China will consist of bilateral cooperation as well as “hot topics”, such as the crisis in Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific, the Russian foreign ministry said. On Saturday, the US warned allies that China had provided geospatial intelligence to Moscow in its war against Ukraine. According to reports, China has provided Russia with satellite imagery for military purposes, as well as microelectronics and machine tools for tanks.
Three civilians were killed in a Russian attack on the frontline village of Guliaipole, in Ukraine’s south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region, according to reports from the regional government. The Guardian could not independently verify these claims.
One civilian was killed and four others were injured after Ukrainian drones were intercepted in Belgorod. A woman was killed and four more people were wounded after air defences downed Ukrainian drones on the approach to Russia’s Belgorod city, according to a statement from the local governor posted on Telegram.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Kyiv will lose the war against Russia if the US congress does not approve military aid to battle Moscow’s invasion. Republicans in Congress have been blocking tens of billions of dollars in military assistance for Kyiv for months. “It is necessary to specifically tell Congress that if Congress does not help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war,” Zelenskiy said during a video meeting, adding: “If Ukraine loses the war, other states will be attacked.” The president warned over the weekend that Ukraine could run out of air defence missiles if Russia keeps up its intense long-range bombing campaign.
Russia has stepped up attacks on Chasiv Yar as it seeks to build on territorial gains in recent months. Chasiv Yar is less than 30km (18 miles) from Kramatorsk, an important rail and logistics hub for the Ukrainian army. “The situation is difficult enough and tense,” said Oleg Kalashnikov, spokesman for a Ukrainian army brigade deployed in the area. Russian was using infantry and air attacks, he told Ukrainian television.
