Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was temporarily disconnected from Ukraine’s national grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation. The final power line connecting the plant to the grid was cut twice by fires at the ash pits of a nearby coal-fired power plant, the operator said earlier today. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later said the power line was restored and was “currently up again”.
Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushchenko, said the IAEA could travel on a mission to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the next '“coming days”. The UN nuclear watchdog’s chief, Rafael Grossi, earlier said his team were “very, very close” to being able to do to the plant.
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the size of Russia’s armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million, as the war in Ukraine enters its seventh month with no signs of abating. The Russian president’s decree appears to point to the country’s aim to replenish its military, which has been heavily damaged in Ukraine and has failed to achieve its objective to capture the capital, Kyiv.
At least 25 people have been confirmed dead after a Russian rocket strike on a Ukrainian train station on Wednesday. Russian forces attacked a train in the village of Chaplyne, Dnipropetrovsk oblast on Wednesday. The deputy head of the president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, reported on Telegram that two children were killed in the attack. Russia has since confirmed it was behind the attack.
The mayor of the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, has said a building allegedly used by Russian-backed officials in the region has been “blown up”. Fedorov, who is not in the city, posted a video reportedly showing damage to the building, which he said was being used to plan a “pseudo-referendum” by Russia-backed authorities on whether the region should join Russia.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he had “a great conversation” with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, and thanked him for his “unwavering” support. It comes a day after Biden announced nearly $3bn in new military assistance to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft missiles, artillery, counter-drone defences and radar equipment, the biggest tranche of US military aid to date.
The UN’s human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, has called on Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. The past six months had been “unimaginably terrifying months for the people of Ukraine”, she said in a speech marking the end of her term as the UN’s high commissioner for human rights. UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said she was “truly shocked” by military strikes that killed children and other civilians in Chaplyne in central Ukraine on Wednesday.
Russian troops have widely used cluster bombs during its war in Ukraine, causing hundreds of civilian casualties and damaging homes, schools and hospitals, according to a monitoring body. The hundreds of cluster munition attacks that have been documented, reported, or are alleged to have occurred show a “blatant disregard for human life, humanitarian principles and legal norms”, the Cluster Munition Coalition said.
Russia is probably prepared to exploit any Ukrainian military activity near the Zaporizhzhia plant for propaganda purposes, according to British intelligence. While Russia maintains the military occupation of ZNPP, the principal risks to reactor operations are likely to remain disruption to the reactors’ cooling systems, damage to its back-up power supply, or errors by workers operating under pressure, the latest UK Ministry of Defence report reads.
Keir Starmer is planning a trip to Ukraine in the late autumn as he moves to cement his relations with the Kyiv government as it continues its fight against Russia. The Labour leader approached the government of Volodymyr Zelenskiy this summer about the possibility of a visit as opposition leader, with the Labour party writing a letter seen by the Guardian.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow.
UN nuclear watchdog could travel to inspect plant within days, says Ukraine energy minister
Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushchenko, said the UN nuclear watchdog could travel on a mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the next coming days.
Galushchenko told Reuters:
A visit is planned. We are talking about the coming days - this is definitely no later than the beginning of September.
Updated
