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It has been 191 days since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. One of the main news of the day is that part of the group of inspectors from the United Nations nuclear agency stayed at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. “We’re not going anywhere. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is here, it is in the plant and it does not move, it will stay”, said the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi.
What happened during the night?
- The Russian company Gazprom has announced that the Nord Sream 1 gas pipeline, which supplies gas to Europe, will no longer reopen this Saturday, as planned. This is an oil spill in the last turbine in operation at the Portovaya compressor station. The European Commission reacted by accusing Russia of “cynicism” and using “false pretexts” to justify the suspension of the gas flow.
- Ukraine’s president applauded the consensus of the G7 and the European Union to impose a price ceiling on Russian oil, but now hopes the measure will be extended to gas as well.
- Ukrainian forces carried out attacks on Russian positions in the region around the city of Enerhodar, which is located near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The disclosure by the General Staff of the Armed Forces is unusual, since the military rarely gives details about specific targets.
- The German company Siemens Energy says that the oil spill detected in a turbine is not a technical reason to stop the operations of the Nord Stream 1.
- Moscow has applied for 56 visas from the US to allow Russia’s foreign minister and his delegation to travel to New York for the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations this month. But so far no response has come.
- Former Russian minister and Kremlin opponent Vladimir Milov is confident Europe will be resilient and maintain sanctions against Moscow, which he says are having an effect, but criticized measures such as making movement within Europe more difficult.
- The US president asked the US Congress to provide an additional $13.7 billion (€13.7 billion) to support Ukraine.
- The physical integrity of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been violated on several occasions, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency stressed on Friday, describing the situation as “extremely complex and challenging.”
- Moscow and kyiv carried out a new prisoner exchange and 14 Ukrainian soldiers, including a doctor, were able to return home, Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne reported.
- The G7 finance ministers reiterated their intention to muster the necessary support to limit the price of Russian oil, according to a joint document approved in a virtual meeting.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the Vostok-2022 military exercises in the Far East next Tuesday, in which more than 50,000 troops from Russia and allied countries, including China, are participating.
What happened during the afternoon?
- The Zaporizhia reactor is reconnected to the electrical grid. The guarantee was granted by Energoatom, the company responsible for the Zaporizhia NPP. In a statement, it announces that reactor No. 5, which was disconnected from the electrical grid on Thursday, is once again connected to the electrical system.
- Ukraine expects to receive Abrams tanks from the US and Leopard-2 tanks from Germany, according to the Ukrainian prime minister. “Germany has made great progress in supporting Ukraine with weapons. We are grateful to Germany, we are grateful to Chancellor Scholz,” said Denys Shmyhal, in an interview with the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur, recalling that for some time in that country they only received protection material.
- The news is released this Friday, but the attack occurred on Monday, August 29. The Red Cross base in Slovyansk was hit by a shell, but there are no victims to mourn, according to Red Cross Director General Robert Mardini.
- It is the latest balance made by Ukraine (and not confirmed by Russia). Moscow’s army will have lost 48,700 soldiers since the beginning of the war, which is now in its 191st day. The same balance points to 2,009 liquidated Russian tanks and 234 planes and 205 helicopters shot down.
- Marta Kostyuk, a Ukrainian tennis player, refused to greet Belarusian Victoria Azarenka at the US Open. Kostyuk believes that the Belarusian Azarenka did not speak out on the war, and therefore she did not want the usual handshake at the end of the game.
Marta Kostyuk, a Ukrainian tennis player, refused to greet Belarusian Victoria Azarenka at the US Open
What happened during the morning?
- The G7 is expected to announce an agreement to limit the price of oil bought from Russia, according to the Financial Times. The finance ministers of the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan will make public their support for the implementation of the measure.
- The President of Ukraine says that the country is ready to increase energy exports to Europe. In this sense, it is essential that the Zaporizhia plant operates safely and remains connected to the electricity grid. “The protection of nuclear plants is a safeguard against a nuclear disaster. We cannot afford nuclear risks,” he added.
And if the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant does not withstand the war? Radioactivity spreads through European countries (but does not reach Portugal)
- Two inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency will remain in Zaporizhia, Reuters said, even after the inspection group’s visit to the nuclear plant ends.
- Ukrainian counteroffensive? Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said this is an “illusion” created by the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “This action was planned by Zelensky’s office for the sole purpose of creating an illusion among the West about the ability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to carry out an offensive,” Sergei Shoiugu was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency.
- After a three-day pause for maintenance, Russia is expected to resume natural gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1 on Saturday, Bloomberg reports. As a result, the price of natural gas is already falling in European markets.
- Gorbachev died “emotionally devastated” by the war in Ukraine. A former interpreter of Gorbachev admits that the war in Ukraine was a “hard blow” for a former Soviet leader, who was “shocked” by the conflict: “He believed in the closeness between the Russian and Ukrainian people.”
Gorbachev died “emotionally devastated” by the war in Ukraine. “It was a hard blow”, reveals the interpreter of the former Soviet leader
- The Ukrainian governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Synyehubov, today denounced a missile attack in the Kholodnohirskyi region. In addition, he reported on his social networks that a 63-year-old man died after a missile attack in Kharkiv.
- The Russian Foreign Minister gave Moldova a serious warning about the independence region of Transnistria, which has Russian troops. At a school event quoted by The Guardian, Sergei Lavrov said that the Moldovan authorities must “understand” that “any action that threatens the security of Russian troops” in Transnistria will be “considered under international law as an attack directed at Russia.”
Source: Observadora