Ukraine’s counterattack continued to make gains on Saturday, but an escalation in fighting near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant again raised concerns for the United Nations’ atomic watchdog.
Geolocation footage shows that Kyiv troops are making “further advances” in several towns in the western part of Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, which has been occupied by Russia in the first months of the war and is home to a nuclear power plant that has been a major point of concern for months. , according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
To the east, the village of Robotyne was recently recaptured by the Ukrainians, one of the biggest victories of their four-month offensive.
Footage also showed Ukraine making “small gains” near Klishchiivka, a village southwest of Bakhmut, a town that saw some of the fiercest and longest fighting of the war and was captured by Russia in May.
As Ukraine moves forward, escalating fighting near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is also fueling fears of a potential nuclear disaster.
Ukraine has made slow progress as part of its counter-offensive but fighting near a Ukrainian nuclear power plant has raised concerns. via REUTERS
The International Atomic Energy Agency said its experts stationed at the Russian-occupied site reported hearing several explosions over the past week, although they did not cause any damage to the plant.
“I remain deeply concerned about the possible dangers the plant faces at a time of heightened military tensions in the region,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned in a statement.
Staffing at the nuclear plant was temporarily reduced to a minimum due to the escalation in fighting, Grossi added.
“Whatever happens in a conflict zone, anywhere, everyone will die from a nuclear accident, and I urge that all necessary precautions must be taken to prevent that from happening,” Grossi said.
Experts are raising concerns about a potential nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant amid intensifying fighting. Reuters
Ahead of recent developments in the region, the IAEA has repeatedly raised concerns about possible radiation leaks from the facility, which shut down six reactors last month, but still needs power and personnel to operate cooling systems and other safety protocols.
Meanwhile, Russia continued to launch artillery strikes across Ukraine, including in Kryvy Righ, a city in the central part of the country.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, post a video to X, formerly known as Twitter, showed a missile attack that caused a huge explosion and then a fireball in Kryvy Righ that killed one person and injured 72.
“Classic Russian-style violence,” wrote Podolyak.
A police car is seen at the site of a Russian missile attack amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih. via REUTERS
Russia also shelled the village of Kostobobriv, located on the country’s northern border near Russia, injuring one person, according to Ukrainian news outlet Ukrinform.
Moscow has also used artillery to prevent its own troops from retreating, a captured Russian soldier claimed.
The Russian soldier, who was captured during the fighting near Robotyne, claimed that as his unit tried to retreat, their own soldiers started firing cannonballs right behind them, creating a wall of fire, Euromaiden Press reported.
The soldier claimed that it was his own country’s attack that injured him and killed his comrades.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Ukraine lost 66,000 soldiers and 7,600 tanks and other armored vehicles in the last three months of their counteroffensive – a number reportedly exaggerated because Ukraine did not have that many soldiers and vehicles involved in the counteroffensive.
“[Russian Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu claims that the Russian military has destroyed a significant amount of Ukrainian military personnel and equipment since the counteroffensive began in June 2023,” according to the latest update by Critical Threats, a project created by the American Enterprise Institute.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
