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Zelensky accuses Russian forces of lighting fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

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Zelensky accuses Russian forces of lighting fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Ukraine getting ‘closer and closer’ to becoming Nato member, says secretary general

The United Nations’ nuclear agency has criticised “reckless attacks” endangering the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine after reports of an explosion and fire at the site.

Dark smoke could be seen rising from a cooling tower at the Russia-occupied plant on Sunday, with Moscow and Kyiv blaming each other for starting the fire.

A Russian governor claimed the fire began with Ukrainian shelling while Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia forces had caused the fire.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog said experts “witnessed thick dark smoke” after hearing multiple explosions throughout the evening.

It comes as the Russian defence ministry said Ukrainian troops had advanced as much as 19 miles into Russia’s Kursk region in an audacious cross-border attack that began a week ago.

Moscow said its forces were engaging the Ukrainian troops in the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez which are 16 to 19 miles from the border between the two countries.

Zelensky said around 2,000 cross-border attacks had been launched by Russia from Kursk this summer, acknowledging the attack directly for the first time.

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Czech Republic to receive Rheinmetall tanks in Ukraine swap deal

Rheinmetall will supply battle tanks to the Czech Republic as part of a swap mechanism to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, the German defence company has announced.

The Czech army will receive 14 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and one armoured recovery vehicle and in turn it will send military equipment to Ukraine, the firm added in a statement.

The total value of the order is in the low three-digit million euro range and delivery will be completed by the beginning of 2026, said Rheinmetall.

Tank gun barrels and towers for Leopard 2A4 tanks are pictured beside a production line of German company Rheinmetall at their plant in Unterluess, Germany
Tank gun barrels and towers for Leopard 2A4 tanks are pictured beside a production line of German company Rheinmetall at their plant in Unterluess, Germany (REUTERS)

Tom Watling12 August 2024 08:45

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Fire seen at Ukrainian nuclear power plant as 15 injured in Kursk drone strike

Russian forces lit a fire at the site of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Radiation levels were normal, the president said, although the blaze is visible from Ukrainian-held territory.

A local official in the Ukrainian city of Nikopol said that Russian forces were rumoured to have set fire to a large number of tyres in the cooling towers, Reuters reported. Russia claimed the fire was started by nearby shelling.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, which has a team at the vast six-reactor plant, said its experts had seen strong, dark smoke coming from the northern area of the plant following multiple explosions.

Tom Watling12 August 2024 08:30

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Ukraine boosts grain exports despite intensified Russian attacks

Ukraine is scrambling to ship as much grain as it can this summer, taking advantage of military gains it has made in the Black Sea area to boost exports even as Russia has attacked its ports.

Ukraine is a major global wheat and corn grower and before Russia’s invasion in 2022 the country exported about 6 million tons of grain alone per month via the Black Sea.

Grain sales are a crucial revenue source and while global prices are weak, Ukraine‘s cash-strapped farmers have little choice but to push ahead with exports because they need to fund the next winter sowing season.

Ukraine doubled food exports in July to over 4.2 million metric tons from the same month last year, according to data from Ukraine‘s UGA traders’ union, despite intensified Russian attacks on Odesa, a key Black Sea export hub, and Izmail, a major port along the Danube River taking grain into Europe.

Ukraine has not yet reported the destinations of its exports in July, but last season it exported most of its wheat to Spain, Egypt and Indonesia, with its corn mostly heading for Spain and China.

A view shows barley where a grain warehouse was destroyed by a Russian missile strike last month at a compound of an agricultural company in the village of Pavlivka, in Odesa region, southern Ukraine
A view shows barley where a grain warehouse was destroyed by a Russian missile strike last month at a compound of an agricultural company in the village of Pavlivka, in Odesa region, southern Ukraine (REUTERS)
An agricultural worker operates a combine during wheat harvesting in a field last month in the Kharkiv region, northern Ukraine
An agricultural worker operates a combine during wheat harvesting in a field last month in the Kharkiv region, northern Ukraine (REUTERS)

Tom Watling12 August 2024 08:15

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With the Kursk incursion, has Ukraine opened a window for peace?

Tom Watling12 August 2024 07:49

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Ukraine poses threat to another Russian region, governor says

Russia has evacuated parts of a second region next to Ukraine after Kyiv sharply increased military activity near the border just days after its biggest incursion into sovereign Russian territory since the start of the 2022 war.

Ukrainian forces rammed through the Russian border early last Tuesday and swept across some Western parts of Russia’s Kursk region, a surprise attack that may be aimed at gaining leverage in possible ceasefire talks after the US election.

Russian officials say they have stabilised the fight but in the neighbouring Belgorod region to the south, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said evacuations had begun from the Krasnaya Yaruga District due to “enemy activity on the border” that was a “threat”.

“I am sure that our servicemen will do everything to cope with the threat that has arisen,” Gladkov said. “We are starting to move people who live in the Krasnaya Yaruga district to safer places.”

Belgorod region’s Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said they were evacuating parts of the region
Belgorod region’s Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said they were evacuating parts of the region (REUTERS)

Tom Watling12 August 2024 07:43

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Wagner Group fighters pictured in west Africa

Wagner Group fighters, part of a Russian militia that previously fought in Ukraine, have been pictured in northern Mali weeks after their unit suffered heavy damage in a fight against local forces there.

The photos show the mercenaries posing with weapons in northern Mali, where they have been working with the government to fight Islamic extremist groups. They have reportedly abused that role, allegedly killing civilians in the process and looting the country’s resources.

You can read more about that fatal battle last month here.

Tom Watling12 August 2024 07:38

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Ukraine ‘advance’ further into Russia’s Kursk region

Ukrainian forces have “advanced” further into the bordering Russian region of Kursk less than a week after they stormed across the border, analysts have found.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, reported that they had geolocated and verified footage over the weekend that shows Ukraine has pushed further westward and northwestward in the region.

This comes despite Russian officials claiming they had stabilised the region. You can read their full statement below.

Ukrainian war tracker DeepState, known to have strong ties to the military, reports that Ukraine have now “liberated” 55 square miles of Russia, though they add that the status of a surrounding 42 square miles remains unknown.

Tom Watling12 August 2024 07:32

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We have some photos from the frontline

Below we have some of the latest photos from the frontline in Ukraine.

Ukrainian servicemen of the 43rd Artillery Brigade fire self-propelled artillery 2S7 Pion toward Russian positions, in an undisclosed area, in the Pokrovsk district, in the eastern Donetsk region
Ukrainian servicemen of the 43rd Artillery Brigade fire self-propelled artillery 2S7 Pion toward Russian positions, in an undisclosed area, in the Pokrovsk district, in the eastern Donetsk region (AFP via Getty Images)
A Ukrainian wounded serviceman who was brought back from positions is treated by Ukrainian military medics at a stabilization point of the 47th Mechanized Brigade "Magura", in Pokrovsk district, in the eastern Donetsk region
A Ukrainian wounded serviceman who was brought back from positions is treated by Ukrainian military medics at a stabilization point of the 47th Mechanized Brigade “Magura”, in Pokrovsk district, in the eastern Donetsk region (AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian soldiers who arrived from the front disembark from a US-made M113 armoured personnel carrier in an undisclosed area in the eastern Donetsk region
Ukrainian soldiers who arrived from the front disembark from a US-made M113 armoured personnel carrier in an undisclosed area in the eastern Donetsk region (AFP via Getty Images)

Tom Watling12 August 2024 07:25

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Zelensky releases footage of fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Tom Watling12 August 2024 07:20

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Ukraine’s Kursk incursion threatens Kremlin with crisis over conscript casualties, says think tank

Ukraine’s cross-border operation into the Kursk region of Russia threatens the Kremlin with a possible political crisis over casualties among conscripts, a US war think tank has said.

Moscow has increasingly relied upon conscripts to defend the Russian state border with Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War added.

Tara Cobham12 August 2024 07:00

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