{"id":7028,"date":"2022-08-10T06:45:54","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T06:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-moscow-plans-to-link-zaporzhzhia-nuclear-plant-to-crimea-operator-warns-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2022-08-10T06:45:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T06:45:54","slug":"russia-ukraine-war-live-news-moscow-plans-to-link-zaporzhzhia-nuclear-plant-to-crimea-operator-warns-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=7028","title":{"rendered":"Russia-Ukraine war live news: Moscow plans to link Zaporzhzhia nuclear plant to Crimea, operator warns | Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Key events<\/p>\n

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Here are some of the latest images we have been sent from inside Ukraine and Crimea over the newswires.<\/p>\n

<\/span>A residential building with windows broken as a result of explosions at a Russian military airbase, in Novofedorivka, Crimea.<\/span> Photograph: Reuters\"A<\/span>A woman visits an outdoor poster exhibition titled \u2018The Victory Day\u2019 in Kyiv.<\/span> Photograph: Roman Pilipey\/EPA\"Vera<\/span>Vera Vasiukova, 71 (left) sits on her bed at a centre for displaced people near Mykolaiv.<\/span> Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka\/AP<\/p>\n

Updated at 02.34\u00a0EDT<\/p>\n

Vitaliy Kim<\/strong>, governor of Mykolaiv<\/strong>, has posted to Telegram to say that as a result of shelling at around 1.40am, three people, including a 13 year-old girl, were injured in the city of Mykolaiv. He said residential buildings were damaged as a result of shelling.<\/p>\n

He also claimed that yesterday, during the day, there had been several fires in the fields caused by Russian attacks, and that \u201csettlements of the Bereznehuvate community, located on the demarcation line, remain under constant fire\u201d.<\/p>\n

The claims have not been independently verified.<\/p>\n

Updated at 02.21\u00a0EDT<\/p>\n

Ukrainian officials are reporting that 11 people were killed and 13 wounded<\/strong> by Russian shelling in the Nikopol district in Ukraine\u2019s Dnipropetrovsk region<\/strong> overnight.<\/p>\n

Residential homes were reportedly damaged in the attack and as many as 1,000 people are without gas, the regional regional military administration said.<\/p>\n

Russia establishes major new ground forces formation, UK MoD says<\/h2>\n

Russian commanders are likely to be faced with the competing operational priorities of reinforcing the Donbas offensive, and strengthening defences against anticipated Ukrainian counter attacks in the south.<\/p>\n

To support the Ukraine operation, Russia has \u201calmost certainly\u201d established a major new ground forces formation, 3rd Army Corps (3 AC), based out of Mulino, in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast east of Moscow<\/strong>, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.<\/p>\n

The latest British intelligence report reads:<\/p>\n

Russia likely plans to resource a large proportion of 3 AC from newly formed \u2018volunteer\u2019 battalions, which are being raised across the country, and which group together recruits from the same areas.<\/p>\n

Russian regional politicians have confirmed that potential 3 AC recruits are being offered lucrative cash bonuses once they deploy to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Recruitment is open to men up to 50 years old and with only middle-school education.<\/p>\n

A Russian army corps typically consists of 15-20,000 troops, but it will probably be difficult for Russia to bring 3 AC up to this strength, given very limited levels of popular enthusiasm for volunteering for combat in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

3 AC\u2019s effect is unlikely to be decisive to the campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Updated at 01.52\u00a0EDT<\/p>\n

US approves $89m in aid to clear Ukraine’s landmines<\/h2>\n

The US state department has approved $89m worth of assistance to help Ukraine equip and train 100 teams to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance for a year, officials said in a statement<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The funding is the largest US de-mining program yet in Ukraine, and the official compared Ukraine\u2019s challenge to attempts to disarm unexploded ordnance in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos following the American war of the 1960s and 70s in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at some conflicts in the not so distant past, the Vietnam War for example, we\u2019re still clearing ordnance in Southeast Asia 50 years after that war ended. This may be on par with that,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n

The program would be run through contractors and non-governmental organisations the official said. He said the money, part of which comes from Ukraine-linked budget requests, will not only fund training, but specialised mine detection and earth moving equipment if need be.<\/p>\n

A Ukrainian official said the aid addressed one of the country\u2019s most important tasks. \u201cBy our estimates, 160,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian land need de-mining, which is about the size of Virginia, Maryland and Connecticut combined,\u201d said Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy\u2019s top aide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis aid will accelerate Ukraine\u2019s recovery,\u201d Zelenskiy\u2019s chief of staff said in a Telegram post.<\/p>\n

Biden welcomes Finland and Sweden joining Nato<\/h2>\n

US president Joe Biden formally welcomed Finland and Sweden joining the Nato alliance Tuesday as he signed the documents of ratification that delivered the US\u2019s formal backing of the Nordic nations entering the mutual defence pact.<\/p>\n

The move is the most significant expansion of the military alliance since the 1990s as it responds to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

In seeking to join Nato, Finland and Sweden are making a sacred commitment that an attack against one is an attack against all,\u201d Biden said at the signing as he called the partnership the \u201cindispensable alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finland and Sweden\u2019s decision to join Nato is a watershed moment for our Alliance. It will help ensure greater security and stability for our world,\u201d Biden added.<\/p>\n

Finland and Sweden will make NATO stronger.<\/p>\n

Today, I signed the U.S. Instruments of Ratification, making the United States the 23rd Ally to approve their membership in NATO.<\/p>\n

\u2014 President Biden (@POTUS) August 9, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

Today we celebrate @POTUS<\/a> signing the U.S. Instruments of Ratification of Finland and Sweden\u2019s @NATO<\/a> Accession Protocols, a historic step toward their NATO membership. https:\/\/t.co\/MtBpCXBLx5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 9, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

On a slightly lighter note, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is being made into an action figure<\/strong> by a product design company in Brooklyn, New York.<\/p>\n

FCTRY launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund production two weeks ago, hitting its $30,000 funding goal in just three hours and raising more than $120,000 since. For every figure sold, $1 goes to Ukraine in the campaign which ends on Friday.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/span>A prototype of the Zelenskiy action figure in Brooklyn, New York.<\/span> Photograph: Roselle Chen\/Reuters<\/p>\n

A six-inch (15-cm) tall clay prototype of the Zelenskiy action figure, moulded by Seattle artist Mike Leavitt, will be mass produced in plastic in China. It is expected to ship by March.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we framed him in the campaign is \u2018the unlikely hero,\u2019\u201d said Jason Feinberg, FCTRY\u2019s chief executive and creative director.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the perfect leader for this moment, just this super inspirational character. He has this real strength that comes across, but it\u2019s humble and he sort of represents the opposite of everything that we\u2019ve come to associate with politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zelenskiy vows to ‘liberate’ Crimea<\/h2>\n

In his nightly address, Ukraine\u2019s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, did not discuss who was behind the attacks in Crimea but vowed to \u201cliberate\u201d the region.<\/p>\n

This Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea – with its liberation.<\/p>\n

Russia has turned our peninsula, which has always been and will be one of the best places in Europe, into one of the most dangerous places in Europe. But we will return to the Ukrainian Crimea. From the Kharkiv region to Kherson, from Donetsk to Enerhodar, from Stanytsia Luhanska to Yalta, from Berdyansk to Novofedorivka \u2013 these are all parts of our country, this is Ukraine, which will be completely free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ukraine denies responsibility for Crimea attack<\/h2>\n

Ukraine is not taking responsibility for explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea on Tuesday, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, suggesting partisans might have been involved.<\/p>\n

Mykhail Podolyak, asked by the Dozhd online television channel whether Kyiv was taking responsibility, replied: \u201cOf course not. What do we have to do with this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier, he appeared to suggest the strike could herald a new phase of the conflict.<\/p>\n

Podolyak said that Kyiv\u2019s long-term goal was \u201cdemilitarisation of the Russian Federation\u201d. He added: \u201cThe future of the Crimea is to be a pearl of the Black Sea, a national park with unique nature and a world resort. Not a military base for terrorists. It is just the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s defence ministry said it could not determine the cause of the explosions but added, sardonically, that people should have regard for the rules of fire safety and \u201cthe prohibition of smoking in unspecified places\u201d.<\/p>\n

Russian airbase in Crimea damaged in explosions<\/h2>\n

A Russian airbase deep behind the frontline in Crimea has been damaged by several large explosions, killing at least one person.<\/p>\n

Multiple social media videos showed explosions<\/a> and clouds emerging from the Saky military base in Novofedorivka on the western coast of Crimea on Tuesday afternoon, prompting questions about how a location more than 100 miles (160km) from the frontline could have been attacked.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s defence ministry told the RIA Novosti news agency that \u201cseveral aviation munitions detonated\u201d in a storage area. It is not clear whether it had been targeted by a long-range Ukrainian missile strike.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke<\/span>Smoke rises after explosions were heard from the direction of a Russian military airbase near Novofedorivka, Crimea, on 9 August.<\/span> Photograph: Reuters<\/p>\n

Russian tourists holidaying on beaches nearby could be seen leaving in fear<\/a>. It is one of few occasions that the peninsula, occupied by Russia since 2014, has been directly affected by the latest fighting. Local people told one Russian news site that explosions went on for an hour.<\/p>\n

Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of occupied Crimea, said one person had died. Earlier, he had filmed a video statement near the site<\/a>, with smoke rising in the distance, saying that ambulance crews and medics were on the scene.<\/p>\n

Russia plans to link nuclear plant to Crimea, operator warns<\/h2>\n

Russian forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeast Ukraine are preparing to connect the plant to Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and are damaging it by reorienting its electricity production, Ukrainian operator Energoatom warned.<\/p>\n

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and was occupied by Russia early in its invasion.<\/p>\n

Energoatom president Petro Kotin told Reuters news agency that Russia wanted to connect the plant to its grid, a technically difficult process that requires the facility to be severed from the Ukrainian system before it can be gradually connected to the Russian one.<\/p>\n

Their plan is to damage all the lines from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. After that it will not be connected to the Ukrainian power system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kotin also told Ukrainian television and Interfax<\/a> news agency:<\/p>\n

The Russian military present at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are implementing the program of [Russian operator] Rosatom aimed at connecting the plant to the Crimean electricity grid.<\/p>\n

To do this, you must first damage the power lines of the plant connected to the Ukrainian energy system. From August 7 to 9, the Russians have already damaged three power lines. At the moment, the plant is operating with only one production line, which is an extremely dangerous way of working.<\/p>\n

When the last production line is disconnected, the plant will be powered by generators running on diesel. Everything will then depend on their reliability and fuel stocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process of de-energisation of the plant in preparation to connect to Russia would be extremely dangerous, Kotin warned.<\/p>\n

At the ZNPP, we are already very close to this first stage of Fukushima-1<\/strong>, because there is only one line. As soon as it is turned off, the station will switch to diesel, and after that everything will depend on the reliability of their work and the sufficiency of the fuel that is there for diesel engines at the ZNPP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kotin also spoke with CNN<\/a>, reiterating his claims that the ultimate plan of the Russians is to disconnect the plant from powering Ukraine and connect it to the grid to power occupied Crimea.<\/p>\n

If there is no connection to the grid, then you cannot provide electricity from the outside, then the diesel generators will start. But everything will depend on the reliability of those generators. \u2026 This is a dangerous situation, because if those stop you could have a disaster of melting nuclear materials,\u201d he said, comparing the potential fallout to the Fukishima disaster in Japan.<\/p>\n

If the situation worsens, we need to think about our population at the plant. We are planning on how, during war conditions, we will be able to evacuate the personnel.<\/p>\n

Great release of radioactivity could happen from there. There could be a cloud, a radioactive cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/span>A Russian serviceman stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on 4 August.<\/span> Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Located not far from the Crimean peninsula, the plant has six of Ukraine\u2019s 15 reactors, capable of supplying power for four million homes.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday raised the spectre of nuclear disaster after strikes on the plant.<\/p>\n

And UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that any attack on a nuclear plant would be \u201csuicidal\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that those attacks will end, and at the same time I hope that the IAEA will be able to access the plant,\u201d he said Monday.<\/p>\n

Recent fighting around the plant has prompted the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to warn of the \u201cvery real risk of a nuclear disaster\u201d.<\/p>\n

Virtually all 7 indispensable nuclear safety & security pillars have now been breached, @RafaelMGrossi<\/a> said, reiterating grave concern: “All military action jeopardising nuclear safety and security must stop.” Again stressed need for an IAEA expert mission to go to the plant asap<\/p>\n

\u2014 IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) August 9, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

Updated at 00.49\u00a0EDT<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Hello and welcome back to the Guardian\u2019s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments for the next short while.<\/p>\n

Ukraine has denied responsibility for explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea on Tuesday, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, suggesting partisans might have been involved.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Russian forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeast Ukraine are preparing to connect the plant to Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and are damaging it by reorienting its electricity production, Ukrainian operator Energoatom warned.<\/p>\n

It is 7.30am in Ukraine. Here is everything you might have missed:<\/p>\n

A Russian airbase deep behind the frontline in Crimea has been damaged by several large explosions, killing at least one person<\/strong>. It was not immediately clear whether it had been targeted by a long-range Ukrainian missile strike. In his nightly address, Ukraine\u2019s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, did not discuss who was behind the attacks but vowed to \u201cliberate\u201d Crimea, saying: \u201cThis Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea \u2013 with its liberation.\u201d An adviser to the president, Mikhail Podolyak, said Ukraine was not taking responsibility for the explosions, suggesting partisans might have been involved.<\/p>\n

The head of Ukraine\u2019s state nuclear power firm warned of the \u201cvery high\u201d risks from shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied south<\/strong> and said it was vital Kyiv regains control over the facility in time for winter. Energoatom\u2019s chief, Petro Kotin, told Reuters in an interview that last week\u2019s Russian shelling had damaged three lines that connect the Zaporizhzhia plant to the Ukrainian grid and that Russia wanted to connect the facility to its grid.<\/p>\n

The leaders of Estonia and Finland want fellow European countries to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens<\/strong>, saying they should not be able to take holidays in Europe while the Russian government carries out a war in Ukraine. The Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, wrote on Tuesday on Twitter that \u201cvisiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right\u201d and that it was \u201ctime to end tourism from Russia now\u201d, the Associated Press reported.<\/p>\n

US president Joe Biden on Tuesday signed documents endorsing Finland and Sweden\u2019s accession to Nato<\/strong>, the most significant expansion of the military alliance since the 1990s as it responds to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports.<\/p>\n

The US state department has approved $89m worth of assistance to help Ukraine equip and train 100 teams to clear landmines<\/strong> and unexploded ordnance for a year, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

The total number of grain-carrying ships to leave Ukrainian ports under a UN brokered deal to ease the global food crisis has now reached 12<\/strong>, with the two latest ships which left on Tuesday headed for Istanbul and Turkey.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad has been struggling with quotas imposed by the EU for sanctioned goods<\/strong> that it can import across Lithuania from mainland Russia or Belarus, the region\u2019s governor admitted. <\/strong>Lithuania infuriated Moscow in June by banning the land transit of goods such as concrete and steel to Kaliningrad after EU sanctions on them came into force, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

Russia has launched an Iranian satellite from Kazakhstan amid concerns it could be used for battlefield surveillance in Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/strong> Iran has denied that the Khayyam satellite, which was delivered into orbit onboard a Soyuz rocket launched from Baikonur cosmodrome, would ever be under Russian control. But the Washington Post previously reported<\/a> that Moscow told Tehran it \u201cplans to use the satellite for several months, or longer, to enhance its surveillance of military targets\u201d in Ukraine, according to two US officials.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/span>Two women walk past the tail part of a Russian attack aircraft Su-25SM destroyed in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, 9 August.<\/span> Photograph: Roman Pilipey\/EPA