Summary of today's developments
It is 9pm in Ukraine. Here are some things you might’ve missed:
Putin has agreed for inspectors to visit Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. According to French President Emmanuel Macron’s office, Putin had “reconsidered the demand” that the International Atomic Energy Agency travel through Russia to the site, after the Russian leader himself warned fighting there could bring about a “catastrophe”. It specified that Putin had dropped his demand that the IAEA team travel to the site via Russia, saying it could arrive via Ukraine.
The UN secretary-general has asked Russia not take Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant off grid. António Guterres asked on Friday that the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station not be cut off from Ukraine’s electrical grid after Ukrainian reports that Moscow is planning to do so, saying the plant used “Ukrainian electricity”.
Western officials say that there are growing concerns over concerns over water cooling at Russian-held nuclear power plant. The existing reactor cooling system at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is critical to the safety of the site and relies on the maintenance of the electricity supply to ensure operation – but officials are anxious that Russia may disconnect the supply if it tries to cut off the plant from the Ukrainian grid.
More than half of Russia Black Sea naval aviation has been knocked out, according to a western official in Ukraine. Western officials have said that the Ukrainian raid on the Saky airbase in occupied Crimea last week knocked out “more than half” of Russia’s combat naval aviation in the Black Sea. However, overall “combat stasis” remains.
The US has announced a new $775m (£655m) package of defence equipment and ammunition for Ukraine, including various types of missiles, drones, artillery and mine-clearing systems. The U.S. has previously sent Ukraine more than $9bn (£7.6bn) in weapons systems, ammunition and other equipment.
Russia’s media watchdog said it was taking punitive measures against TikTok, Telegram, Zoom, Discord and Pinterest. Russia has repeatedly threatened to fine sites - including Google, that violate harsh new laws criminalising the spreading of “false information” about the Russian army. On Tuesday, Russian courts fined U.S.-based live streaming service Twitch 2 million roubles (£28,635) and messenger service Telegram 11 million roubles (£158,291) for violating military censorship laws.
A former Russian mayor has been appointed head of Russian-occupied Kharkiv. It is the latest in a string of such appointments which Kyiv says are part of attempts to annexe its territory.
Ukraine’s economy minister has said the country’s economy could contract 35-40% by the end of the year. Hit by Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, the economy contracted 15.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022.
The Kyiv Independent reported that rescuers are searching for people and bodies under the rubble of a dormitory destroyed in attacks on the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
The Chinese and Russian leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin will attend the G20 summit in Bali in November, Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, told Bloomberg News. “Xi Jinping will come. President Putin has also told me he will come,” he told the news agency. As hosts of this year’s summit, Indonesia has faced pressure from western countries to withdraw its invitation to Putin. The country has also invited the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Kharkiv has been one of the most consistently shelled since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to British intelligence. Sitting around 15km from the Russian front line, Kharkiv has suffered because it remains within range of most types of Russian artillery, the latest report from the UK’s ministry of defence reads.
That is all for today. Thank you for reading along.
We will be back bringing you the latest Ukraine news tomorrow.
Putin allows inspectors to visit Russia-held nuclear plant in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed that a team of independent inspectors can travel to the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, the French presidency said on Friday.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron’s office, Putin had “reconsidered the demand” that the International Atomic Energy Agency travel through Russia to the site, after the Russian leader himself warned fighting there could bring about a “catastrophe”.
It specified that Putin had dropped his demand that the IAEA team travel to the site via Russia, saying it could arrive via Ukraine.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has urged Moscow’s forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia plant in south Ukraine not to disconnect the facility from the grid and potentially cut supplies to millions of Ukrainians.
