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Zelensky: Russian presence in the Zaporizhzhia NPP increases the radiation threat to Europe

Zaporizhzhie NPP
Photo: EPA/BGNES

Ukraine is taking aim at Russian soldiers firing at and from the captured nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He warned that every day that Russian forces remain on the site increases the radiation threat to Europe to levels exceeding even the peak moments of the Cold War confrontation.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Energodar Dmitry Orlov, who evacuated to territories controlled by Kyiv, wrote in Telegram that local residents reported new Russian shelling in the direction of the industrial zone of the city near the plant. The Russian-appointed head of the local administration, Vladimir Rogov, blamed the Ukrainian army for the attacks. According to the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency, Russia is preparing more provocations at the nuclear plant. The Russian army has deployed a Pion self-propelled howitzer gun artillery in the area with a Ukrainian flag on it.

The counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army against the city of Kherson continues. Ukrainian units have destroyed a second bridge over the Dnieper River, which was used by Russian forces to supply supplies, British intelligence claims. The army also struck Donetsk and Makaevka, which are under Russian control. At the same time, Chechnya is sending a new unit of volunteers trained at the Russian University of Special Forces to fight in Ukraine, the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced in Telegram.

Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko accused Russian authorities of committing a crime against humanity by blocking access to state-subsidized medicine to people in occupied towns and villages. "During the six months of war, Russia has not allowed the opening of humanitarian corridors to get our medicines to the patients who need them," he told The Associated Press.

Police in Ukraine are investigating 26,000 war crimes committed by Russian soldiers, but thousands more are expected to be uncovered after Ukraine regains captured towns and villages, "Every day we register many dead civilians," Interior Minister Denis Monastirsky said . He added that the crimes of the political elite of the Russian Federation, which leads the troops and allows them to rape and kill civilians - including children, were also being investigated.



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