Summary of the day
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UN Nuclear watchdog urges restraint after Ukraine attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Sunday. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed on Sunday by authorities at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that a drone detonated on site today. “Such detonation is consistent with IAEA observations,” the nuclear watchdog said in a post on a social media. IAEA director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, also said of the attack, “I urge to refrain from actions that … jeopardise nuclear safety.”
Earlier, the administration reported an Ukrainian strike on the dome of the plant’s sixth power unit that caused no damage, and an attack that damaged a truck parked near the station’s canteen, according to Russian state news agency TASS reports.
Russia has been accused of systematically using illegal chemical gas attacks against Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrainian troops claimed that they have 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 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 has said. On Saturday, the US warned allies that China has 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 southeastern 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.
The Russian government has declared a federal emergency over record floods in the Orenburg region. The floods, caused by rising water levels in the Ural River, forced over 4,000 people to evacuate, and has flooded nearly 6,300 houses so far, according to state media. Flooding in two more nearby regions has been deemed “inevitable” by the Kremlin. Russian authorities have opened a criminal case for “negligence and violation of construction safety rules” over the burst dam. The Orenburg regional governor said specialists assessed that the dam was built “for a different weight” and that the level of rainfall was “exceptional”.
Ukraine "will lose war" if US congress withholds aid, says Zelenskiy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday 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,” Zelensky said during a video meeting of Kyiv-organised fundraising platform United24.
Zelensky said it would be “difficult” for Ukraine to “stay” without the aid. He said that “if Ukraine loses the war, other states will be attacked.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dragged on for more than two years.
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