The day of the war at a glance
Selenskyj criticizes Russian pseudo-referendums – More grain freighters on the way
08/07/2022 10:04 p.m
After the shelling of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the danger of a further escalation of the war increases. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling the nuclear power plant site. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for new EU sanctions against Russia in the face of the latest attack. In the eastern region of Donetsk, the Ukrainian army is under increasing pressure. Meanwhile, more grain carriers left Ukrainian ports. The 165th day of the war at a glance:
Zelenskyy: Referendums in occupied territories “end any possibility of talks”
President Zelenskyy has also threatened Russia with a definitive break off of talks if Russia pushes ahead with the annexation of further Ukrainian territories. In his video address, he referred to the referendums announced by the Russian side in occupied territories about union with Russia. “If the occupiers continue down the path of pseudo-referendums, they will end all opportunities for dialogue with Ukraine and the free world,” says Zelenskyy. In the first few weeks after the Russian invasion in February, delegations from both sides met repeatedly for talks, which have not been continued since the end of March. Russia had already annexed Crimea in 2014, citing an internationally unrecognized referendum.
Concern about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
For weeks there has been criticism that the Russian troops used the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in the city of Enerhodar as a protective shield for their own artillery, which fired at Ukrainian-controlled areas from there. The nuclear power plant is located in the part of southern Ukraine occupied by Russia – there have already been dangerous situations there several times in the past months of the war. On Friday, the plant in the city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhia region caught fire as a result of shelling, but the fire was extinguished. A block of the nuclear power plant had to be shut down. The power supply in the city was partially lost. While Moscow blamed Ukrainian troops, Kyiv said the Russians had shelled the area themselves.
On Sunday, the Russian news agency Interfax, citing the occupation administration in the city of Enerhodar, reported that the Ukrainian army fired a rocket at the nuclear power plant during the night. The Ukrainian nuclear agency Enerhoatom, on the other hand, accused the Russians of shelling the site themselves. The information cannot be verified independently. IAEA chief demands access to nuclear power plant that was fired upon Damage had occurred on the nuclear power plant site, said IAEA chief Grossi. However, the reactors were intact and no radioactivity had escaped. An on-site visit by an IAEA team would therefore help to stabilize nuclear safety on site and provide independent information on the condition of the power plant. Grossi called on Ukraine and Russia to finally jointly enable such an IAEA mission.
Ukrainian army in Donetsk under increasing pressure
In the eastern region of Donetsk there has been fierce fighting for days in the small town of Bakhmut. The small town is considered a cornerstone of the defense system surrounding the last Ukrainian-held metropolitan area in Donbass. Should Bakhmut and other small towns fall, the way for the Russian troops would be largely clear in the direction of the major cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. According to their own statements, the Ukrainian army was able to fend off all Russian advances on Saturday. According to Moscow, up to 130 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an air raid on the small town of Bakhmut. The information could not be independently verified.
Russia’s army reports destruction of NATO military aid in Ukraine
According to the Russian army, it has also destroyed tons of ammunition that NATO countries have supplied to Ukraine. In the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv, a warehouse with a total of 45,000 tons of ammunition was hit, said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. This could not be verified independently either. Konashenkov also reported five other weapons depots that had been attacked.
Four more ships leave Ukrainian ports
After the end of the port blockade, more ships from Ukraine set course for Istanbul. The Ministry of Defense in Ankara announced on Sunday that four ships loaded with sunflower oil and corn, among other things, were on their way to the Turkish metropolis to be checked there. A ship carrying 33,000 tons of corn was allowed to continue sailing after an international inspection in Istanbul on Saturday. The arrival of the ship “Razoni” in Lebanon, scheduled for Sunday, has been delayed. The freighter was the first ship loaded with Ukrainian grain to leave Ukraine for Lebanon last week since the start of the Russian war of aggression.
A total of eight freighters from Ukraine have departed since the conclusion of the grain agreement. Ukrainian farmers are under severe pressure despite the resumption of exports across the Black Sea. This year, for the foreseeable future, only around 20 million tons of wheat would be harvested, about two-thirds of the yield in the previous year before the start of the Russian war of aggression, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Taras Wyssozkyj told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Sunday). The most productive grain-growing areas of Ukraine are in the war zones. The resumption of Ukrainian grain exports is considered important for stabilizing food prices on the world market. Pope Francis sees the first grain exports as a “sign of hope,” as he said in Rome.
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