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The UN team heads to the Zaporizhia nuclear plant
A team of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog arrived in Kyiv on their way to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said a team would visit the plant from Wednesday to Saturday. “We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine and Europe’s largest nuclear facility,” Grossi tweeted. The IAEA added: “Raphael Grossi and a team of experts and inspectors embarked for the IAEA Assistance and Support Mission in Zaporizhzhia (ISAMZ), to help ensure nuclear safety at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and undertake vital safeguarding activities.” Rockets and shells frequently hit areas around the power station and nearby towns, raising fears that it may be too dangerous for the mission to proceed. The Kremlin said the IAEA mission was “necessary” but ruled out evacuating the site. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine expects the IAEA delegation to “state the facts” about the violation of all nuclear safety protocols, adding that Russia “puts not only Ukraine but the whole world at risk of a nuclear accident. “.
Russia claims Ukrainian attack ‘failed miserably’
Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged that a new Ukrainian offensive had been launched in Mykolayiv and Kherson regions, but said it had failed and Ukrainians had suffered significant casualties, the RIA news agency reported. “The enemy’s offensive attempt failed miserably,” he said. However, officials of the Russian-appointed local authority later told the agency that a Ukrainian rocket barrage had left the Russian-held town of Nova Kakhovka just east of the city of Kherson without water or electricity. Reports of the battlefield could not be independently verified.
Kiev forces break through Russian defenses near the city of Kherson
Kiev forces have reportedly breached Russian defenses in several front-line sectors near the city of Kherson, a senior adviser to Zelensky claimed. “I should note today that the (Russian) defenses were broken within a few hours,” Oleksiy Arestovych said in a YouTube video interview. A spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern command, Natalia Khomenyuk, said Ukrainian forces hit more than 10 locations last week and “undoubtedly weakened the enemy” during a briefing Monday. Khomeiniuk declined to elaborate, saying Russian forces in the south remained “quite strong” and that the operation needed “silence” as media attention could affect the results. Her claims could not be independently verified. Oleksandr Shulga stands in front of his damaged house after a rocket attack in Mykolaiv on August 29. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images Sergiy Khlan, local deputy and adviser to the regional governor told Ukraine’s Pryamyi TV channel on Monday: Today there was a strong artillery attack on enemy positions in … the entire territory of the occupied region of Kherson. This is the announcement of what we have been waiting for since the spring – it is the beginning of the end of the occupation of the Chersona region.” “What is happening now is a prepared, well-balanced launch of a counter-attack,” Khlan told AFP. A separate Ukrainian military source told CNN that its forces have retaken four villages near the city of Kherson after breaking through the front line in three places, with the main “target” being Kherson. The operation began with heavy shelling of Russian positions and the rear, forcing them to flee, the source said. Ukrainian forces are also reportedly shelling ferries in the Kherson region that Moscow uses to supply Russian-held territories on the west bank of the Dnieper River.
Ukraine counterattacks in Kherson
Ukrainian troops are carrying out a long-awaited counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region, military officials said. The spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern administration, Natalia Humeniuk, said on Monday: Today we launched aggressive actions in various directions, including the Kherson area.” The military official declined to provide further details on the new offensive, but said Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russia’s southern logistics routes “undoubtedly weakened the enemy.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy did not refer to the counterattack specifically during his speech on Monday afternoon, but said: If they want to survive, it’s time for the Russian military to go. Let the conquerors know: we will drive them to the border. On our borders, the line of which has not changed.” Those who surrendered would be treated according to the Geneva Conventions, he said, adding: “If they don’t listen to me, they will face our defenders, who will not stop until they liberate everything that belongs to Ukraine.” “Ukraine is returning its own. He will return Kharkiv region, Luhansk region, Donetsk region, Zaporizhia region, Kherson region, Crimea… This will happen.”
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments for the next while. Whether you followed our coverage overnight or just dropped in, here are the latest lines. The UN nuclear watchdog has assembled a team to visit Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant this week, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said. “We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine and Europe’s largest nuclear facility,” he added. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are carrying out a long-awaited counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region, military officials said. It is 7.30 in the morning in Kyiv. Here we are:
Ukrainian troops are carrying out a long-awaited counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region, military officials said. “Today we launched offensive actions in various directions, including the Kherson region,” the spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern command, Natalya Khomeniuk, said on Monday. He declined to elaborate on the new offensive, but said Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russia’s southern logistics routes “undoubtedly weakened the enemy.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy added in a speech on Monday afternoon: “If they want to survive, it’s time for the Russian army to leave. Let the conquerors know: we will drive them to the border. On our borders, the line of which has not changed.”
Kiev forces have breached Russian defenses in several front-line sectors near the city of Kherson, a senior adviser to Zelensky claimed. Oleksiy Arestovich said Ukrainian forces were also shelling ferries in the Kherson region that Moscow uses to supply Russian-held territories on the west bank of the Dnieper River. A separate Ukrainian military source told CNN that its forces have retaken four villages near the city of Kherson after breaking through the front line in three places, with the main “target” being Kherson. The operation began with heavy shelling of Russian positions and the rear, forcing them to flee, the source said.
A Ukrainian rocket barrage has left the Russian-held town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region without water or electricity, officials from the Russian-appointed local authority told Russia’s RIA news agency. The city is located just east of the city of Kherson. A team of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog arrived in Kyiv on Monday night on their way to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said a team would visit the plant from Wednesday to Saturday. “We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine and Europe’s largest nuclear facility,” Grossi tweeted. Rockets and shells frequently hit areas around the power station and nearby towns, raising fears that it may be too dangerous for the mission to proceed.
The Kremlin said the IAEA mission was “necessary” but ruled out evacuating the site. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine expects the IAEA delegation to “state the facts” about the violation of all nuclear safety protocols, adding that Russia “puts not only Ukraine but the whole world at risk of a nuclear accident. “.
Russian forces shelled Enerhodar, the town where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located, according to Ukraine’s armed forces. Zelenskiy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak also appeared to confirm the reports on his Telegram channel along with a video of firefighters putting out burning cars.
Russia is struggling to find more soldiers to fight in Ukraine and has expanded recruitment efforts by lifting the age limit and breaking into prisons. “Many of these recruits have been observed as older, unfit and ill-mannered,” a Pentagon official told reporters on Monday. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered last week that his army will be increased by about 10 percent, to 1.15 million soldiers, starting in January next year.
Ukrainian officials have warned politicians, experts and opinion leaders against speculating on the progress of a military counter-offensive. The spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern command, Nataliya Humenyuk, said the operation in Kherson needed “silence” as media attention could affect the results. The presidential adviser of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, added that it is necessary to wait for official statements from the Ministry of Defense and the army of Ukraine. “I understand our wishes and dreams… But war is not a ‘wish’. Let’s filter the information and work professionally out of respect for…
