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Russia-Ukraine war latest news: world leaders urge ceasefire after shelling started fire at nuclear power plant – live

Published




05:53

Luke Harding

Guardian reporter, Luke Harding, is currently in Lviv, western Ukraine where he says demoralised Russian soldiers tell of their anger at being “duped” into war.

Eight days after Vladimir Putin’s invasion it is clear that a significant number of his servicemen are demoralised and reluctant to fight. Some have given themselves up.

Others have abandoned their vehicles and have set off back towards the Russian border on foot, lugging their weapons and kitbags, videos suggest. These episodes do not mean that the Kremlin will fail in its attempts to conquer Ukraine, as its tactics shift to brutal shelling of civilians.

But low morale among invading troops might be one reason why Russia’s blitzkrieg plan to overwhelm Ukraine appears not to have progressed at the speed Putin would have wanted. The assumption in Moscow was that the operation would be swift and successful. Soldiers were given food and fuel supplies for only two or three days, the videos suggest.

The Kremlin also appears to have had a totally fantastical idea of the reception they would get. Several prisoners of war said they had been assured Ukrainians would welcome them as liberators. Russian forces were expecting flowers and cheers, not bullets and bombs, they said.




05:45

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier accused Russia of nuclear terrorism after a fire burned for several hours at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant early Friday morning.

The shelling of the nuclear plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, prompted widespread concern about the safety of Ukraine’s atomic infrastructure.

“We are warning everybody – not a single state apart from Russia has ever shelled nuclear reactors,” Zelenskiy said. “It is the first time in our history, in the history of humankind, that the terrorist state turned to nuclear terrorism.”

Watch the video of Zelenskiy’s remarks below.


Zelenskiy accuses Russia of ‘nuclear terrorism’ after fire at power plant – video




05:39

Fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant extinguished, no casualties, officials say

Ukrainian emergency services confirmed just a short while ago that a fire which had broken out in the training building of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant was extinguished after a blaze burned for at least four hours throughout early Friday morning.

Ukrainian authorities said the fire was ignited by shelling from Russian forces, claiming Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze.

At 6.20am local time, Ukraine’s State Emergency Services issued an update published to their social media channels:

At 06:20 the fire in the training building of Zaporizhzhya NPP in Energodar was extinguished.”

According to the agency, no casualties have so far been reported.

Fighting at the plant also reportedly stopped, according to the mayor of Enerhodar, a town located south-east of the plant.

Updated




05:23

Summary

It is 7.20am in Ukraine as Russia’s war enters its ninth day. Here is where the crisis currently stands:

  • A fire broke out in a training building outside a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Friday, after shelling by Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities said.
  • After burning for at least four hours amid reports Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze, Ukrainian emergency services confirmed the blaze was extinguished at 6.20am local time. Fighting at the plant has also reportedly stopped, according to the mayor of Enerhodar, a town located south-east of the plant.
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier said it had put its Incident and Emergency Centre in “full 24/7 response mode” due to the “serious situation” unfolding at Zaporizhzhia.
  • However, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm provided reassurance surrounding the Zaporizhzhia power plant reactors, saying there was no elevated radiation readings near the facility and the plant’s reactors are “protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down.”
  • Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy made another appeal to Europe for help following the attack on the nuclear plant. He said: We warn everyone that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear power stations. For the first time in the history of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism.”
  • British prime minister Boris Johnson called Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “reckless actions” a danger to the safety of Europe.
  • Russian forces continue to control both local and regional government buildings in the strategically important Black Sea port of Kherson, local authorities said. Russian forces appeared to be moving to cut Ukraine off from the sea via its key southern ports, claiming the capture of Kherson and tightening the siege of Mariupol.
  • Concern is mounting over the movements of a huge column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv. While a US defence official suggested it appeared to have “stalled”, there was also speculation that an estimated 15,000 troops attached to it may be regrouping and waiting for logistical supplies before an assault on Kyiv.
  • In a televised speech, Putin claimed Russian military operations in Ukraine were going according to plan. The president went on to accuse Ukrainian forces of using civilians as “human shields” while providing no evidence.
  • Vladimir Putin earlier told Emmanuel Macron that Kyiv’s “refusal to accept Russia’s conditions” means he will continue to pursue his war in Ukraine, France’s presidential Élysée Palace has said, adding: “We expect the worst is yet to come.”

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Updated

source: theguardian.com