Evening summary
We’re wrapping the blog up for tonight, but you can join us again from tomorrow morning. Here are the key events from the 199th day of the invasion.
Residents in Russian-controlled parts of the Kharkiv region have been advised to evacuate to Russia, according to the state-run news agency Tass.
Ukraine appears to have regained control of the two key cities of Kupiansk and Izium after a major counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region in recent days.
Photos published by the Ukrainian security forces showed troops in Kupiansk, an important logistical hub for Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian ministry of defence confirmed the withdrawal of its troops from Izium, claiming they were being “regrouped” so that efforts could be stepped up in Donetsk.
The Ukrainian flag has also been raised in the city of Balakliya, according to the Kharkiv regional governor.
The UK ministry of defence said Russian forces were “likely taken by surprise” by the counteroffensive.
A woman has been killed and at least 20 civilians injured in Russian shelling in the Kharkiv district, according to the regional governor.
The UN said it has documented “torture and ill-treatment” of prisoners of war held by Russian forces in Ukraine. It also said it had corroborated at least 5,767 civilian deaths, though added that the actual numbers are “likely considerably higher”.
The Ukrainian military said a further 350 Russian soldiers have been killed, bringing the total number since the start of the invasion to 52,250.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar has said its forces finally established full control over the city of Balakliya on Saturday.
Malyar’s online statement comes hours after the Russian defence ministry said it was pulling its troops from the area.
Earlier today, Kharkiv’s regional governor said the Ukrainian flag had been raised in the city.
Russian rocket fire hit Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday evening, killing at least one person and damaging several homes, local officials said.
The strikes hit the western suburb of Kholodnohirsk and damaged several homes in Ukraine’s second largest city, its mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said rockets from an MLRS system had killed one person and wounded two.
Ukraine’s forces have mounted a vast counter-offensive in the surrounding Kharkiv region in recent days, recaptured dozens of towns and villages from Russia in a swift mechanised assault.
Synehubov earlier said Russia had stepped up shelling of the city in response.
Some pictures here from Kharkiv today as Ukrainian forces continue to make rapid advances in the north-east of the country.
The counteroffensive has seen swathes of territory recaptured.
Updated
Residents in Russian-controlled parts of Kharkiv told to evacuate to Russia
Residents in Russian-controlled parts of the Kharkiv region have been advised to evacuate to Russia, according to the state-run news agency Tass.
The area’s Russian-installed administrator Vitaly Ganchev reportedly said doing so would “save lives”.
It comes after the Russian defence ministry said it was pulling troops out of two key towns in the region as Ukrainian troops made rapid advances.
The towns, Izium and Balakliya, are crucial military supply hubs.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia’s adjoining Belgorod region, said on messaging app Telegram that food, heating and medical assistance were being provided to people queuing to enter Russia in vehicles at the Logachevka border crossing.
Andrey Turchak, a senior official in the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, said a volunteer corps had been deployed to help those fleeing Ukraine for Russia, and reported more than 400 vehicles at the border.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he has spoken to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
“Our position is the only way to protect Europe from a nuclear disaster is to demilitarise the plant,” the Ukrainian president wrote on Twitter this afternoon.
I talked with @EmmanuelMacron by phone. I briefed him on the course of hostilities. I raised the issue of banning visas for Russians. Much time was given to the crisis at #ZNPP. Our position is the only way to protect Europe from a nuclear disaster is to demilitarize the plant.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 10, 2022
Updated
Summary
If you’re just joining us, here’s a quick round-up of the day’s events in Ukraine so far…
Ukraine appears to have regained control of the two key cities of Kupiansk and Izium after a major counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region in recent days.
Photos published by the Ukrainian security forces showed troops in Kupiansk, an important logistical hub for Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian ministry of defence confirmed the withdrawal of its troops from Izium, claiming they were being “regrouped” so that efforts could be stepped up in Donetsk.
The Ukrainian flag has also been raised in the city of Balakliya, according to the Kharkiv regional governor.
The UK ministry of defence said Russian forces were “likely taken by surprise” by the counteroffensive.
A woman has been killed and at least 20 civilians injured in Russian shelling in the Kharkiv district, according to the regional governor.
The UN said it has documented “torture and ill-treatment” of prisoners of war held by Russian forces in Ukraine. It also said it had corroborated at least 5,767 civilian deaths, though added that the actual numbers are “likely considerably higher”.
The Ukrainian military said a further 350 Russian soldiers have been killed, bringing the total number since the start of the invasion to 52,250.
The Ukrainian government said it is currently negotiating a $1.5bn (£1.3bn) package of financial aid with the US to help it buy gas.
The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, arrived in Kyiv this morning for an unannounced visit, saying Germany would “continue to stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary”.
The Russian ambassador to the UK has congratulated King Charles III on his ascension to the throne, wishing him a “long and illustrious reign, as well as prosperity for your people”.
Updated
Russia confirms Izium retreat
The Russian ministry of defence has confirmed the retreat of Russian forces from Izium and Balakliya.
In a statement published by state media outlet RIA Novosti, the ministry claimed a decision had been made to “regroup the Russian troops stationed in the Balakliya and Izium regions” and “step up efforts in Donetsk” so as to “achieve the stated goals of the special military operation” and “liberate” the Donbas.
It also claimed that a number of “distraction and demonstration events” had been staged in order to conceal the “real actions of the troops” and allow the withdrawal.
Updated
Footage reportedly shot ahead of the surprise counter-offensive in Kharkiv shows scores of troops performing the Ukrainian national anthem.
An English translation of the anthem’s lyrics reads: “Ukraine is not yet dead, nor its glory and freedom,
“Luck will still smile on us brother-Ukrainians.
“Our enemies will die, as the dew does in the sunshine,
“And we, too, brothers, we’ll live happily in our land.
“We’ll not spare either our souls or bodies to get freedom,
“And we’ll prove that we brothers are of Cossack kin.”
💙💛One of the most powerful performances of the Ukrainian National Anthem
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 9, 2022
The anthem of #Ukraine sounds even more touching when it is performed by those who today are fearlessly fighting with the invaders. pic.twitter.com/WGjn0Fu6O0
Updated
My colleague Shaun Walker has just tweeted this subtitled video of the Ukrainian flag being raised in the city of Balakliya.
Syrski, commander of Ukrainian ground forces, runs Ukrainian flag-raising ceremony in Balakliia (vid via Vertikal telegram channel). Amazing. pic.twitter.com/qrKrazFqoE
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) September 10, 2022
Updated
Here’s a report from our colleagues Lorenzo Tondo and Isobel Koshiw on Ukraine’s apparent retaking of Kupiansk:
Ukrainian forces are continuing to make unexpectedly rapid advances in the north-east of the country, as Kyiv appears to have retaken control of the strategically vital town of Kupiansk and encircled thousands of Russian troops in Izium, Moscow’s stronghold in the north-east sector of the front.
Ukrainian troops have in the past few days pushed Russian forces out of a number of settlements in the region that Moscow occupied since the first days of its invasion.
In a video address late on Friday, President Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had liberated more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region.
Updated
Ukraine and the US are currently negotiating a $1.5bn (£1.3bn) package of financial aid to help Ukraine buy gas, the Ukrainian government has said.
A statement posted to the government website described talks held on Friday between the Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, and the US Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen.
“The parties discussed the issue of energy security and the passage of the heating season. In particular, the assistance of American partners in the purchase of gas,” it said.
“In this regard, negotiations are under way regarding the allocation of a tranche in the amount of $1.5bn from the US EXIM [Export–Import] Bank for the purchase of gas.”
Updated
The Russian ambassador to the UK has congratulated King Charles III on his ascension to the throne.
A letter to the new king from Andrei Kelin was posted on Twitter by the Russian embassy in London.
“Your Majesty,” it read. “Allow me to join the president of the Russian Federation in extending my heartfelt congratulations to Your Majesty on the Ascension to the throne.
“Please accept my sincere wishes for a long and illustrious reign, as well as prosperity for Your people.”
Ambassador Andrei Kelin congratulated His Majesty King Charles III on the Accession to the throne. pic.twitter.com/XsF5MbidA7
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) September 10, 2022
Updated
Communities in recaptured areas are coming “back to life” but have seen their homes and infrastructure “destroyed”, Ukrainian officials have said.
About 700 sq km of territory and more than 30 settlements have been recaptured in the Kharkiv region in recent days.
An update posted to Facebook by the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said: “In the liberated territories, the de-occupied communities are coming back to life.
“Demining of the area is under way. Units of the National Guard of Ukraine are conducting stabilisation measures.
“The work of the National Police has been resumed. The police are recording numerous crimes committed by the enemy on Ukrainian soil, and are ready to counter provocations and the infiltration of subversive and intelligence groups.
“The local population is immediately provided with all possible help because the occupiers left behind destroyed infrastructure, destroyed houses of civilians, and heaps of scrap metal.”
Updated
This is Sam Jones, taking over the blog while my colleague Christy has a break.
Ukrainian forces in Kupiansk, say officials
Ukrainian forces have entered Kupiansk, according to officials.
A photo posted to Twitter by the Ukrainian security service showed a group of troops gathered around an armoured vehicle.
A caption said that Kupiansk “was and will always be Ukrainian”.
“We will free our land to the last centimetre,” it added. “Let’s go further! Glory to Ukraine!”
Спецпризначенці ЦСО «А» СБУ в Куп’янську, який був і завжди буде українським! 🇺🇦
— СБ України (@ServiceSsu) September 10, 2022
Ми звільнимо нашу землю до останнього сантиметра! Йдемо далі!
Слава Україні! pic.twitter.com/eq4ZDYFe9y
Updated
Footage purportedly shows Ukrainian troops entering Kupiansk on a tank in the early hours of this morning.
The clip was shared online by a number of Ukrainian outlets and journalists covering the war, but has not been independently verified by the Guardian.
Video of Ukrainian troops entering Kupiansk early in the morning without fighting
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) September 10, 2022
📹via @kharkiv_warnews pic.twitter.com/wARwf516rs
Updated
Why does Kupiansk matter?
Recent days have seen Ukrainian forces launch a major counteroffensive against Russian forces holding territory in Kharkiv, a region in the east of Ukraine.
The city of Kupiansk sits near what was previously the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the region, and recapturing it would be considered a significant victory for Ukraine.
US-based thinktank the Institute for the Study of War has described the city as Russia’s “key logistical node” in the region, adding that its recapture would “severely degrade” Russian ground lines of communication.
A map shared on Twitter by Veli-Pekka Kivimäki, a senior analyst at the Finnish Security & Intelligence Service, shows that Kupiansk is the point at which the major rail lines in north-east Ukraine converge, meaning its loss could significantly hinder Russian supply lines.
To give an idea about the strategic significance of Kupyansk, I've highlighted it on the rail network map. https://t.co/7Ilp455phJ pic.twitter.com/GBAio75CPl
— Veli-Pekka Kivimäki (@vpkivimaki) September 9, 2022
Updated
Photos being widely shared on social media purport to show Ukrainian soldiers in the city of Kupiansk.
One shared by Iuliia Mendel, a former spokesperson to President Zelenskiy, showed four soldiers standing in front of a building holding a Ukrainian flag. A Russian flag can be seen crumpled on the ground in front of them.
“This is Kupiansk of Kharkiv region,” Mendel wrote. “Glory to Ukraine!”
Another shows a group of three soldiers, also holding a Ukrainian flag, stood on a rooftop said to be in the centre of the city.
The Guardian has not been able to independent verify the photos.
Some public Telegrams say that Ukrainian forces regained Oleksandrivka, the village of my childhood in Kherson region. I’ll pray that it’s true.
— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) September 10, 2022
Balakliia in Kharkiv region is under Ukraine flag again. And this is Kupiansk of Kharkiv region. Glory to Ukraine! 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/cQZqJ2UGsx
Ukraine’s remarkable Kharkiv Surprise offensive continues this morning with the reported capture of strategically vital transport hub Kupiansk. Slava Ukraini! #KharkivSurprise pic.twitter.com/qKSjLnx6m7
— Business Ukraine mag (@Biz_Ukraine_Mag) September 10, 2022
Ukraine appears to recapture key cities of Izyum and Kupiansk
Ukraine appears to have recaptured the key cities of Izyum and Kupiansk.
The cities lie south-east of Kharkiv city in the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian forces have launched a major counteroffensive in recent days. Analysts said Kupiansk in particular is an important logistical hub for Russian forces in the east of Ukraine.
A number of pro-Russian Telegram channels have said Ukrainian forces now control half of Kupiansk, BBC Russia reports, while Ukrainian sources have told the outlet that Kupiansk has been “completely liberated”.
BBC Russia also reports that pro-Russian channels have said Russian troops have left Izyum. Other channels reportedly said Ukrainian troops were already in the city’s centre.
Late on Thursday, US-based thinktank The Institute for the Study of War said it expected Kupiansk to fall within 72 hours, and that its recapture would “severely degrade” Russia’s ground lines of communication to Izyum.
An intelligence update published by the UK ministry of defence at 6am this morning said that Russian forces around Izyum were “increasingly isolated” and that Ukrainian units were “threatening” Kupiansk.
Claims that the cities have been recaptured have also been shared online by multiple analysts and journalists covering the war in Ukraine. The Guardian has not been able to independently verify the claims.
Updated
Ukrainian flag raised in Balakliya, says regional governor
The Ukrainian flag has been raised in the city of Balakliya, the Kharkiv regional governor has said.
Oleg Sinegubov posted a video of himself addressing the camera to Telegram.
A caption read: “Balakliya is Ukraine! Today, the Ukrainian flag was raised.
“Boys and girls of the armed forces, today you are creating a new history of free Ukraine, we are proud. To be continued…”
Footage shared on social media in recent days showed resident in Balakliya greeting and hugging Ukrainian soldiers following the liberation of the city.
Russia has sent 1,300 Chechen fighters to the southern Kherson region, according to the Ukrainian military.
It comes as western intelligence suggests that Russian forces in Kherson are coming under sustained pressure from Ukrainian attacks.
In a post to Facebook, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said “a unit of the so-called ‘Kadyrivtsev’, numbering up to 1,300 people, formed according to national characteristics” had arrived in Kherson.
Kadyrivtsev refers to people serving under Ramzan Kadyrov, the pro-Kremlin head of the Chechen Republic.
Updated
Residents of areas occupied by Russia in the early stages of the invasion have told the Guardian about what life is like now and the rebuilding that will have to be done.
Vadim, a 65-year-old resident of Borodianka, outside Kyiv, used to live in a third-floor apartment on the town’s central street, but it was destroyed in March by Russian grad missiles.
He now spends hours every day sifting through rubble, picking out fragments of his family’s belongings.
The walk out of town to his garage is long and dispiriting but Vadim has few options. He does not want to live in the temporary accommodation for refugees, where conditions are variable.
This is his home but, like the others who have stayed, he faces a quandary that may quickly become unbearable. If the warmer months were uncomfortable but broadly tolerable, the imminent winter will bring challenges that pose another real threat to life.
“I have nothing left,” he says.
Read the full story from Larisa Kalik and Nick Ames here:
Updated
President Zelenskiy has paid tribute to Ukrainian and foreign journalists who have been killed covering the war in Ukraine.
Speaking in his nightly address, he said that on Friday he met with members of the media who were honoured as part of Independence Day celebrations on 24 August.
“These are reporters, operators, producers, editors and presenters,” he said.
“They all made a significant contribution to our victory in the media confrontation with Russia, to break through Russian propaganda and spread simply the truth about the war, about our independence.”
He added: “A moment of silence was observed for representatives of the media whose lives were taken by this war.
“As of today, they are 38 people – not only citizens of our country, but also foreigners who came to Ukraine for the truth and died from Russian weapons.”
Updated
The Ukrainian military claims to have destroyed at least $157.5m (£136m) worth of Russian aircraft and weaponry in the space of just three days.
In a post on Facebook, the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian armed forces said that, between 5 and 7 September, “Ukrainian defenders smashed the enemy’s aerial targets to the tune of $157.5m”.
“And we are talking only about the means of air attack: cruise missiles, airplanes and helicopters,” the post read.
It went on to accuse the Russian government of spending money on “tanks, planes, missiles, helicopters, as well as luxurious palaces of the Putin gang and hundreds of billions of stolen money in the accounts of oligarchs” instead of the “economic development of the country”.
Updated
A woman has been killed and at least 20 civilians injured in Russian shelling in the Kharkiv district, according to the regional governor.
Writing on Telegram, Oleg Sinegubov said Russia has carried out “massive attacks” in Kharkiv city and nearby towns as “revenge” for the success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the region.
He said that, at about 1am on Saturday, a home in the Novaya Vodolaz area was shelled and a 62-year-old woman was killed.
Sinegubov added that other “private houses and commercial buildings were damaged, and there were numerous fires”.
He said 14 people, three of them children, were injured in shelling in Kharkiv city on Friday afternoon.
Another five people were hospitalised in the city of Izyum and that at least one other person was injured elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, he said.
Updated
A further 350 Russian soldiers killed, says Ukraine
A further 350 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, according to the latest estimates from the Ukrainian military.
In its latest daily figures, Ukraine’s ministry of defence said total Russian fatalities now stood at 52,250, up from 51,900 on Friday.
It also said Russia had lost a total of 4,584 armoured combat vehicles, 239 military jets, 212 helicopters and 311 multiple launch rocket systems.
The figures follow the success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. A tweet by the ministry included the quote: “One cannot plan for the unexpected.”
"One cannot plan for the unexpected."
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 10, 2022
Aaron Klug
Total combat losses of the enemy from Feb 24 to Sep 10: pic.twitter.com/wKaZ2icyi4
Updated
The UN says it has documented “torture and ill-treatment” of prisoners of war held by Russian forces in Ukraine.
It also said it had corroborated at least 5,767 civilian deaths and 8,292 civilians injured, though added that actual numbers are “likely considerably higher”.
The findings were laid out on Friday in a briefing from Odesa by Matilda Bogner, the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
“We have documented that prisoners of war in the power of the Russian Federation and held by the Russian Federation’s armed forces or by affiliated armed groups have suffered torture and ill-treatment,” she said.
Bogner said that in some places detainees had been deprived of adequate food, water, healthcare, and sanitation, and referred to one penal colony in Olenivka, a Russian-held town in southern Ukraine, where prisoners of war had reportedly been “suffering from infectious diseases, including hepatitis A and tuberculosis”.
She added that her team had been granted “unimpeded access” to places of internment controlled by the Ukrainian government, whereas Russia “has not provided access to prisoners of war held on its territory or in territory under its occupation”.
Updated
The German foreign minister has arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit.
Annalena Baerbock said the trip, her second since the start of the invasion, was intended to demonstrate Berlin’s support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia.
“I have travelled to Kyiv today to show that they can continue to rely on us,” she said in a statement. “That we will continue to stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary with deliveries of weapons, and with humanitarian and financial support.”
It comes only a week after Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal’s visited Berlin, where he repeated a call for Germany to supply Ukraine with more weaponry.
Over recent weeks, Germany has sent howitzers, rocket launchers, and anti-aircraft missiles to Kyiv.
Heavier weapons like anti-aircraft systems, rocket launchers mounted on pick-ups, and anti-drone equipment are also due in a further military aid package worth over €500m (£438m).
Earlier this week, Berlin said it would also team up with the Netherlands to train Ukrainian soldiers on demining.
Baerbock said it was “clear that Putin is counting on us getting tired of sympathising with the suffering in Ukraine”.
“He thinks that he can divide our societies with lies and blackmail us with energy deliveries,” she said.
“This calculation must not and will not work. Because all of Europe knows that Ukraine is defending our peace.”
Ukrainian forces have seized an expanding area of previously Russian-held territory in the east in a “very sharp and rapid” advance, a Russian-installed regional official said on Friday, in a breakthrough that may mark a turning point in the war.
After keeping silent for a day, Russia effectively acknowledged a section of its frontline had crumbled south-east of Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, Reuters reports.
Vitaly Ganchev, head of the Russian-backed administration in the Kharkiv region, said on state television:
The enemy is being delayed as much as possible, but several settlements have already come under the control of Ukrainian armed formation.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said later that Kyiv’s forces had liberated more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region so far and that fighting continued in the eastern Donbas region and the south.
Ganchev had claimed his administration was trying to “evacuate” civilians from cities including Izium, Russia’s main stronghold and logistics base in the province.
Zelenskiy adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video posted on YouTube that Russian defenders in Izium were almost isolated. He said hundreds of Russians had died so far and several hundred more had been taken prisoner, citing what he described as reports from the frontline.
Updated
Russian forces taken by surprise, says UK
As we just mentioned, the UK’s Ministry of Defence is reporting that Ukraine’s counter-offensive has taken Russian forces by surprise.
Ukrainian troops, it adds, have advanced 50km (31 miles) along a narrow front line and have retaken or surrounded several towns.
It says:
Ukrainian units are now threatening the town of Kupiansk; its capture would be a significant blow to Russia because it sits on supply routes to the Donbas front line.
With Ukrainian operations also continuing in Kherson, the Russian defensive front is under pressure on both its northern and southern flanks.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 10 September 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) September 10, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/87pwGSujtp
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/GitWVZvd3S
Summary
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of the war in Ukraine. Here’s a rundown of the latest developments as it passes 10am in Kyiv on the 199th day of Russia’s invasion.
The UK says Russian forces were likely to have been ‘taken by surprise’ by Ukraine’s counter-offensive, which has now advanced 50km into territory previously held by Russia. In it’s daily intelligence briefing, the UK Ministry of Defence says Ukrainian units have captured or surrounded several towns
Russia says it is dispatching reinforcements to the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv’s forces have announced robust gains as part of a broader counter-offensive. Russian state media broadcast footage on Friday of columns of Russian tanks, support vehicles and artillery travelling along paved roads and dirt tracks. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said his forces had liberated more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region and that fighting continued in the eastern Donbas and the south.
The European Commission has urged EU states to reassess the terms on which they grant visas to Russian travellers and to root out applicants that pose a security threat. “We should not be naive, Putin’s aim is to destroy the EU and he would like to attack us where we are weakest,” the EU home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, said on Friday.
The Ukrainian armed forces’ general staff said it had pushed back against Russian attacks near 10 settlements, the Kyiv Independent reported. The staff said on Friday that Russian forces had launched more than 12 missiles and more than 12 airstrikes on Ukrainian territory over the preceding 24 hours.
Shelling has destroyed power infrastructure at Enerhodar, the Ukrainian city where staff operating the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant live. The shelling possed a growing threat to the plant, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday.
The UN nuclear watchdog said conditions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were increasingly precarious and that a safety zone around it needed to be immediately established to prevent a nuclear accident. The International Atomic Energy Agency director, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said on Friday that there was minimal chance of re-establishing reliable offsite power lines to the plant and that its Ukrainian operator was considering shutting down the only remaining operating reactor.
EU finance ministers supported a €5bn ($5bn) loan for Ukraine to help maintain the country’s schools, hospitals and other needed operations amid Russia’s invasion. The loan, agreed on Friday, will be backed by guarantees of EU member states and is part of an overall €9bn package announced in May.
The EU executive have pledged to devise unprecedented measures in the coming days to address an energy price shock as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine, including a controversial gas price cap that could further anger the Kremlin. European energy ministers tasked the European Commission with working through this weekend to draw up legal texts that will include emergency funding for consumers struggling to afford soaring bills.
A Russian-appointed official in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region announced on Friday that civilians were being evacuated from three of the region’s Russian-controlled territories that have come under threat from the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
