Summary of the day
It has just turned 6pm in Ukraine and Russia. Here are the key events you might have missed from the day:
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region killed three people on Monday, in a second day of deadly attacks on the area, its governor has said. “Three people were killed and three people were wounded in the Pologivskyi district” of Zaporizhzhia, Governor Ivan Federov said on social media.
At least six people have been injured after a Russian missile attack on Monday hit an industrial facility in Ukraine’s southern city, the regional governor has said. He did not provide any details regarding the type of facility. The Guardian is unable to independently verify this account.
Russia has hit up to 80 per cent of Ukraine’s conventional power plants and half its hydroelectric plants in recent weeks, in the heaviest attacks since the war began, Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko has said. “Up to 80% of thermal generation was attacked. More than half of hydro generation and a large number of substations,” Galushchenko told journalists in Kyiv. “This is the largest attack on Ukraine’s energy sector” since war began, the minister said, adding that he suspects that Russia has modified their weapons to now use Iranian-style explosive drones and missiles that cause more damage per attack.
The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station has just announced that another drone was shot down over the roof of reactor number six, according to Reuters. “Today, a kamikaze drone was shot down over the plant. It fell on the roof of Unit 6,” the plant said, below a picture of reactor No. 6. Reactor No. 6 is now shut down, according to the plant.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has condemned a drone strike on one of six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. “This cannot happen,” director general Rafael Grossi wrote on a social media post, adding, “No one can conceivably benefit or get any military or political advantage from attacks against nuclear facilities. This is a no go.”
The Kremlin continues to blame Ukraine for the attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, calling them “very dangerous”, but a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer has denied Kyiv’s involvement. The Guardian is unable to independently verify either account.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Beijing on Monday to display the strength of ties with close diplomatic ally China, amid Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Despite its backing of Russia in the Ukraine war, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters Monday that “China has an objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue … We have been actively promoting peace talks and political solutions. China is not a creator or party to the Ukraine crisis, and we have not and will not do anything to profit from it.”
The US Treasury Secretary has threatened sanctions on China’s banks which aid Russia’s military capacity, amid Russia’s diplomatic visit to China. She told reporters, as she wrapped up four days of talks with China, that “any banks that facilitate significant transactions that channel military or dual-use goods to Russia’s defence industrial base expose themselves to the risk of US sanctions.”
The Kremlin has warned that a planned German military presence in Lithuania would escalate tensions. The Nato military alliance and EU member Lithuania, which borders Russia and its ally Belarus, said earlier it would partly finance permanently hosting of 5,000 German troops from 2027.
More than 10,400 homes across Russia have been flooded, triggering record water levels in the Ural mountains, Russia’s emergency ministry have said. “An increase in air temperatures, active snow melt and river openings are predicted,” Russia’s emergency ministry said. “More than 10,400 residential buildings remain flooded in 39 regions.” Russia’s government declared a federal emergency on Sunday over flood-hit areas, state media reported.
Residents of Orsk, the Ural Mountains city most affected by some of Russia’s worst flooding in decades, staged protests against local authorities’ perceived inaction on Monday. “Shame! Shame! Shame!” the crowd of about 100 is heard chanting in a video circulating on Telegram. The chants from the protest are believed to be directed at the local administration over low compensation for property damage and the burst dam’s structural deficiencies, according to reports from the Moscow Times.
A member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) accused of taking money from a pro-Russian media site has denied any wrongdoing. German magazine Der Spiegel and Czech newspaper Denik N reported that Bystron had received money from the portal Voice of Europe, which was sanctioned by the Czech government late last month due to suspected Russian influence. Petr Bystron, a member of the German parliament and an AfD candidate in European parliament elections set for June, has “vehemently denied” the allegations, an AfD spokesperson told Reuters.
Residents of flood-struck Orsk stage protest against local government
Residents of Orsk, the Ural Mountains city most affected by some of Russia’s worst flooding in decades, staged protests against local authorities’ perceived inaction on Monday.
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” the crowd of around 100 is heard chanting in a video circulating on Telegram.
Much of Orsk is submerged underwater, after the Ural River swelled and burst through a dam on Friday, forcing thousands to evacuate. Russia has declared a regionwide state of emergency and officials have opened a criminal case against the local authorities for “negligence and violation of construction safety rules” over the burst dam.
The chants from the protest are believed to be directed at the local administration over low compensation for property damage and the burst dam’s structural deficiencies, according to reports from the Moscow Times, an English and Russian-language online newspaper.
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