Ukraine’s forces have had “successes” in three areas of the Russian-occupied region of Kherson, according to a Ukrainian regional official. Yuriy Sobolevskyi, the deputy head of Kherson’s regional council, said Ukrainian troops had enjoyed successes in the Kherson, Beryslav, and Kakhovka districts, without providing details.
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed, however, that Ukraine’s attempts to mount a counteroffensive in the south of the country had failed. In its daily briefing, it said Ukraine’s forces had suffered heavy losses in equipment and troops. It has not been possible to independently verify either side’s claims.
A team of nuclear experts travelled to Zaporizhzhia amid international concern about the potential for an accident or radiation leak at the nuclear power plant there. The International Atomic Energy Agency envoys set off from Kyiv on Wednesday morning for the plant in south-eastern Ukraine, a Reuters witness reported from the scene. The UN nuclear chief, Rafael Grossi, told a briefing in Kyiv: “We are finally leaving after six months of effort. The IAEA is heading to the Zaporizhzhia NPP. As you know, we have a very important task there – to work and examine the real situation there, to help stabilise the situation as much as possible.”
Grossi said the IAEA will seek to establish a permanent presence at the Zaporizhzhia plant to avoid “a nuclear accident” at the facility. He added that the agency’s visit to the plant will last a few days. Russian-installed officials in the area near the power station previously suggested the visit might last only one day.
Ukraine accused Russian forces of firing on a town near the Zaporizhzhia plant as inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog were on their way to inspect the facility. One of the shells hit the building where Energodar city council is located, according to its mayor, Dmytro Orlov.
Ukraine also accused Russia of deliberately shelling corridors to make it unsafe for the IAEA inspectors to visit the plant. Mykhailo Podolyak, a key presidential adviser, said Russia was attempting to force the IAEA mission through Crimea and parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions temporarily occupied by Moscow’s forces.
