September 6, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Follow the latest news on Russia’s war in Ukraine?here?and read more about today’s developments in the posts below.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency, is calling for a safety zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine to prevent a nuclear disaster, stating in a report released Tuesday that it remained “gravely concerned” about the situation following its mission to the site last week.?

Here are the latest developments:

IAEA report says safety principles were violated at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and calls for safety zone: The agency emphasized the urgent need for interim measures “to prevent a nuclear accident arising from physical damage caused by military means.” To achieve this, the IAEA called for the establishment of “a nuclear safety and security protection zone.” The report added, “The IAEA is ready to start immediately the consultations leading to the urgent establishment of such a nuclear safety and security protection zone at the ZNPP,” The agency says its team saw first-hand the damage shelling has caused to the facility and “noted with concern that the shelling could have impacted safety related structures, systems and components, and could have caused safety significant impacts, loss of lives and personnel injuries.”

UN nuclear watchdog saw military vehicles and equipment inside Zaporizhzhia plant, according to report: The International Atomic Energy Agency saw Russian military equipment and personnel inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during its visit of the facility, Director General Rafael Grossi said in a report published on Tuesday.?“The team observed the presence of Russian military personnel, vehicles and equipment at various places at the ZNPP, including several military trucks on the ground floor of the Unit 1 and Unit 2 turbine halls and military vehicles stationed under the overpass connecting the reactor units,” according to the report. The IAEA said the presence of military personnel and equipment creates “very challenging circumstances” for staff trying to maintain normal operations at the plant.

IAEA warns of potential interference after team saw unit of Russian nuclear agency at Zaporizhzhia plant: The IAEA said the team it sent to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine saw a unit of Russia’s nuclear agency at the facility. The IAEA inspectors “observe[d] the presence of?an expert group from Rosenergoatom,” which is a unit of Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, according to a report published on Tuesday. “It was explained to the team by the Ukrainian plant staff and managers that the role of this expert group was to provide advice on nuclear safety, security, and operations to the management of the ZNPP,” the IAEA said.?But “the presence of Rosatom senior technical staff could lead to interference with the normal lines of operational command or authority and create potential frictions when it comes to decision-making,” according to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

Zelensky called for the demilitarization of nuclear plant: Ukrainian President Zelensky said in his nightly address Tuesday, “The [IAEA] mission, which had visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, has presented a documentary summary of its work.”

“The report notes the presence of Russian military equipment on the territory of the NPP, emphasizes pressure on our nuclear workers, and makes clear references to the Russian military occupation. That’s good,” he said.?Zelensky added, “As for IAEA Director General Grossi’s proposal to create a protection zone at the plant, we need to we need to look into the specific sense of such tool: what exactly can be considered protection? If the sense of this proposal is to demilitarize the territory of the nuclear power plant - and this is logical, because it was the Russian military presence that put the Zaporizhzhia station on the brink of a radiation disaster - then we can support such a demilitarized protection zone.”

The White House told CNN Tuesday there’s “certainly no indications” that Russian-purchased arms from?North?Korea?have made their way to the battlefield in Ukraine, following reports earlier that Russia had begun the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from the isolated autocratic nation.

“He was buying drones from Iran, now he’s got to buy artillery rounds from?North?Korea,” Kirby said. “It’s an indication of how much his defense industrial establishment is suffering as a result of this war and the degree of desperation that he’s reaching out to countries like Iran and?North?Korea?for assistance, but no indication that they’re on the battlefield right now.”??

Earlier Tuesday, a US official told CNN that Russia is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from?North?Korea, indicating the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions.

US Defense Department press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon Tuesday that Russia has approached?North?Korea?to “request ammunition.”

U.S. Ambassador for Special Political Affairs, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Unites on September 6, 2022 in New York City.?

A US representative immediately called out Russia for its “song and dance” of tales in the UN Security Council, adding the invading country is exposing the world to the possibility of “nuclear catastrophe,” with regards to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Following the release of the IAEA report, the US representative told the security council “It is essential that Russia allow Ukrainian operators to implement any and all measures the IAEA team and Ukrainian operators deem important for the safe and secure operation of the plant to decrease the risk of a nuclear incident”

“Worse this is a situation entirely of Russia making,” DeLaurentis added, saying the current danger is a result of Russia’s “unprovoked” and “unlawful” invasion of Ukraine.

“Over the weekend shelling once again lead to the disconnection of an external power line putting at risk the plants operations,” the US official said

DeLaurentis also noted that Russian forces are increasing stress and duress on human operators increasing chance of “human error.’

“The potential danger here is enormous and it concerns us all,” he said.

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations continued to blame Ukraine for the shelling’s on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and claimed the report shows the plant “is functioning normally and there are no internal threats to its security” thanks to cooperation from the Russian armed forces.

The only threat created is the “shelling and sabotage from the Ukrainian armed forces” said Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, something Ukraine has consistently denied.

Ukraine blames Russia for the shelling, and accuses them of using the ZNPP as a shield.

Nebenzya peppered the IAEA director with questions about its report including questioning what “military equipment” was observed threatening the maintenance of the plant.

He also said he regretted that the source of the shelling was not named in the report.??

Nebenzya also reiterated that Russian federation ensured the safety of the IAEA operators

“We continue doing everything we can to ensure that the ZNPP works safely,” by way of technical personnel “with the support of Russian specialists.”

The radiation situation is “normal” he added.

He alleged “if provocations by the Kyiv regime continues there is no guarantee that there won’t be serious consequences and the responsibility for that lies fully with Kyiv and its western backers and all other members of security council who so far have not found in themselves the courage to call things their proper name and call on Kyiv to stop its reckless acts against the ZNPP which create a real threat to international peace and security.”

Later in the meeting, while Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency did not answer the Russian Ambassadors questions explicitly he did thank the parties involved in ensuring the success of the mission.?

Acknowledging Russia had asked questions, Grossi said, “I will be very soon approaching relevant parties with some very concrete elements for their consideration in order to try to move forward in the next logical step after this important first one which will be to establish an immediate protection to the plant.”

Ukrainian President Zelensky said in his nightly address Tuesday, “The [IAEA] mission, which had visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, has presented a documentary summary of its work.”

“The report notes the presence of Russian military equipment on the territory of the NPP, emphasizes pressure on our nuclear workers, and makes clear references to the Russian military occupation. That’s good,” he said.?

Zelensky added, “As for IAEA Director General Grossi’s proposal to create a protection zone at the plant, we need to we need to look into the specific sense of such tool: what exactly can be considered protection? If the sense of this proposal is to demilitarize the territory of the nuclear power plant - and this is logical, because it was the Russian military presence that put the Zaporizhzhia station on the brink of a radiation disaster - then we can support such a demilitarized protection zone.”

“If Russia has put the world on the brink of a radiation disaster, then the world must have adequate means to put Russia in the conditions where the terrorist state will be forced to stop terror,” the Ukrainian president said.

The IAEA director appealing to the United Nations Security Council Tuesday with regards to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant said that “we are playing with fire and something very, very catastrophic could take place.”?

“The hits that this facility has received and that I could personally see and assess together with my experts is simply unacceptable,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.?

On the heels of the IAEA report released Tuesday he stressed that agency inspectors remained at the site ensuring capacity for direct evaluation of the situation.?

“We in this case have the historical ethical imperative to prevent something from happening,” and establishing this presence — and in tandem establishing a safety and security protection zone — he believes they have the capacity to prevent catastrophe.?

“This is something that can be done now,” he said adding “we have the inspectors there already deployed they are doing their work.”

“We can agree on a very simple but incredibly necessary protective mechanism to avoid what is happening now as we speak which is the shelling of a nuclear power plant.”?

Addressing the UN Security Council he said it’s time to “seize this opportunity so fundamental for peace for security and to protect the populations of Ukraine and beyond.”

He reiterated agenda items of his “neutral,” and “technical” report released Tuesday in particular calling for the establishment of a nuclear safety security protection zone around the perimeter of the plant.?

The report also found operators operating under “extremely challenging circumstances together with military equipment and vehicles in different parts of it” and the IAEA called for the immediate removal of this military equipment so to not interfere.??

His report also called for operators to be able to perform without external pressures.?

The report also recommends the off site power supply line redundancy be re-established meaning all military activities that affect that power supply systems “must be stopped immediately”

He also called for uninterrupted supply chain transportation to and from the site.??

He elaborated on his reports findings and 7 recommendations earlier Tuesday to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he was the first foreign leader to speak to the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss.?

“I became the 1st foreign leader to have a conversation with the newly elected PM Liz Truss. Invited her to Ukraine,” Zelensky tweeted on Tuesday. “Thanked UK people for the major defense & economic aid for Ukraine.”

A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that a call took place between the two counterparts.

Truss spoke to her Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky on Tuesday evening, in her first call with a foreign leader after becoming the country’s leader, according to the spokesperson.??

Truss in the call reiterated the UK’s “steadfast support” for Ukraine’s freedom and democracy, the spokesperson said.??

“In her first call with a counterpart since becoming Prime Minister, she reiterated to the Ukrainian leader that he had her full backing, and Ukraine could depend on the UK’s assistance for the long term,” Downing Street noted.

Zelensky thanked Truss for the UK’s “staunch support” and congratulated the prime minister on her appointment, Downing Street said.??

“The leaders discussed the need to strengthen global security and the measures necessary to cut off the funds fuelling Putin’s war machine.”??

The two leaders “deplored Putin’s attempts to weaponise energy, and the Prime Minister said it was vital Russia’s blackmail did not deter the west from ensuring Putin fails. She also underscored the importance of ensuring the UK and our allies continue to build energy independence.”

Truss praised the Ukrainians’ fight for “sovereignty and self-determination and said it was essential Ukraine succeeds and Russia fails,” Downing Street said.??

The British leader was “delighted” to accept an invitation to visit Zelensky in Ukraine soon, it added.?

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi told CNN that there must be a differentiation between establishing a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant versus creating a “nuclear safety and security zone.”

“You have to make a differentiation here.?The concept of demilitarization is a wider concept that has a geographical, it has an operational scope of a completely different nature,” Grossi said to CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour in his first television interview since returning from his visit to the plant.

“What we are talking about here is the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone immediately — which means something … perhaps more modest than a full demilitarization of the area, but extremely effective in getting commitment from all sides to avoid any aiming at the plant, any shelling at the plant, any use of any means and calibers of artillery in a direction of the plant,” Grossi continued.

He said creating this type of zone is within the IAEA’s mandate to protect the safety and security of the plant and the workers there, and that he hopes he might consult “very quickly” and “establish an interim measure.”

“What we need desperately is to protect this nuclear plant because it is being shelled,” he said.?

In his first television interview since returning from his visit to the?Zaporizhzhia?nuclear power plant in Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour that a “very grave danger” remains.?

“The situation … continues to be very worrying,” Grossi said.?“The shelling continues, so indeed, we are still facing a very grave danger.”

When Amanpour asked if there was an imminent threat — including of a possible nuclear meltdown — Grossi said he doubted that for now, but ongoing shelling posed an ongoing threat nonetheless.

Amanpour?asked Grossi if the IAEA was able to determine who was behind the shelling, as both the Ukrainians and the Russians have blamed each other.

“I cannot make that determination.?We do not have the means to do that.?As you know, you would need to be looking or monitoring the military operation in the region and all its vastness, which is not only beyond the mandate of the IAEA, but would require enormous capabilities,” Grossi said.?

He said the IAEA’s purview and responsibility is to “look at the safety and security of the facility to determine what is really going on.?This is why my visit there, the inspection there, and the fact that now I have people who have stayed, so the IAEA is staying at the plant, was essential, indispensable.”??

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Russky island in the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok on April 25, 2019.

Russia is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield in Ukraine, a US official tells CNN.

The purchase indicates that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions, according to the official.

The US expects Russia could try to buy more military equipment from North Korea going forward, the official added.

The New York Times?first reported on the purchase. The two countries had formed relations through the Korean War of the 1950s, with the former Soviet Union having been a major benefactor to North Korea, financially propping the regime up. North Korea has blamed the US and the West for the war in Ukraine.

News of Moscow buying weaponry from North Korea follows a recent?US assessment?that Russia now possesses weapons-capable drones from Iran also likely for use in the war in Ukraine.

The US believes that Moscow officially purchased the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones — the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 — from Iran and transferred to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. The drones are capable of carrying precision guided munitions and can be used for surveillance.

?Russia has been looking to hamper Ukrainian military’s use of recently Western-supplied long-range precision artillery and rocket systems, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), on the battlefield. With the HIMARS, Ukraine has been able to precisely target and hit Russian command posts, logistical hubs and ammunition dumps well beyond the front lines.

During a briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that Russia has approached North Korea to “request ammunition.” ?

The request from Russia to North Korea is “indicative of the situation Russia finds itself in,” Ryder said.

“It does demonstrate and is indicative of the situation Russia finds itself in in terms of logistics and sustainment capabilities as it relates to Ukraine,” Ryder said. “We assess that things are not going well on that front for Russia, so the fact that they’re reaching out to North Korea is a sign that they’re having some challenges on the sustainment front.”

A Ukrainian soldier takes a selfie as an artillery system fires on the front line in the Donetsk region on September 3.

The Ukrainian military repelled several Russian offensives in the eastern region of Donetsk, the army’s general staff said in a situational update on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian military also claimed the destruction of Russian targets in the Donetsk region but also along the southern front.

The US Defense Department is seeing Ukrainian offensive forces in the Kherson region “continue to make some forward movement,” including retaking villages, a Pentagon official said.

“What we’ve seen in the Kherson region first is some continued offensive operations by the Ukrainians,” said Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder at a briefing with reporters. “They continue to make some forward movement. We are aware that they have retaken some villages.”

Ryder also said that the US has seen “some offensive Russian activity … near Bakhmut.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the team it sent to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine saw a unit of Russia’s nuclear agency at the facility.

The IAEA inspectors “observe[d] the presence of?an expert group from Rosenergoatom,” which is a unit of Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, according to a report published on Tuesday.

“It was explained to the team by the Ukrainian plant staff and managers that the role of this expert group was to provide advice on nuclear safety, security, and operations to the management of the ZNPP,” the IAEA said.?

“Energoatom operating teams at the plant have been able to rotate in three shifts per day, but the situation has had a negative impact on staff,” it added.

According to the IAEA, Ukrainian authorities reported that the Rosatom team arrived on April 29.?

“These specialists requested daily reports from plant management about “confidential issues” on the functioning of the NPP, covering aspects related to administration and management, maintenance and repair activities, security and access control, and management of nuclear fuel, spent fuel and radioactive waste,” according to the report.

The International Atomic Energy Agency saw Russian military equipment and personnel inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during its visit of the facility, Director General Rafael Grossi said in a report published on Tuesday.?

“The team observed the presence of Russian military personnel, vehicles and equipment at various places at the ZNPP, including several military trucks on the ground floor of the Unit 1 and Unit 2 turbine halls and military vehicles stationed under the overpass connecting the reactor units,” according to the report.

The IAEA said the presence of military personnel and equipment creates “very challenging circumstances” for staff trying to maintain normal operations at the plant.

CNN last month reported on video that showed Russian military vehicles inside a turbine hall connected to a nuclear reactor.

A Dutch passport control for trucks in the port of Hoek van Holland on January 4, 2021.

The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to?suspend the?visa?facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia, which would make it more expensive and harder for Russians to travel to EU member states.?

European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced the proposal in a news conference in Brussels, saying there is “no basis for a privileged relationship between Russia” and the European Union following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.??

This comes after European foreign ministers last week reached political consensus to fully suspend the?visa?agreement.??

Johansson stressed that the proposal will ensure that “Russia citizens will no longer enjoy privileged access to the EU.”?

Russians trying to enter the EU for tourism and leisure purposes will face a “lengthier” and “more expensive” process, the commissioner said. There will also be more restrictions for multiple entry visas, Johansson added.???

As part of this, the visa fee will increase from 35 euros ($34.66) to 80 euros ($79.23) while the deadline for a decision from consulates will increase from 10 days to 15 days. Visa applicants will also have to submit a longer list of documentary evidence when applying for a visa, according to the press release.????

Despite the suspension, the EU will remain “open to certain categories of Russian visa applicants travelling for essential purposes, including notably family members of EU citizens, journalists, dissidents and civil society representatives,” according to the news release.??

What comes next?: The commission must now wait for the European Council to consider the proposal to scrap the visa agreement in its entirety, the press release said. If approved by the European Council, the suspension will come into force on the second day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.?

The bloc announced in the press release that it is also proposing a?“common EU approach for the non-recognition of Russian passports issued in occupied foreign regions, as Russia currently extends the practice of issuing ordinary Russian passports to more non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine, in particular the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.”??

The EU stressed that its visa facilitation agreements “are based on mutual trust and respect of common values between the EU and the given country.”??

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is incompatible with a trustful relationship and runs counter to the spirit of partnership on which Visa Facilitation Agreements are based,” the bloc added.??

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on April 27.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it remains “gravely concerned” about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine and says there is an “urgent need” for measures to prevent a nuclear accident, namely the establishment of a nuclear safety and protection zone around the Russian-occupied site, Director General Rafael Grossi said in a report following a visit to the site.?

The agency emphasized the urgent need for interim measures “to prevent a nuclear accident arising from physical damage caused by military means.”

To achieve this, the IAEA called for the establishment of “a nuclear safety and security protection zone.”

The agency says its team saw first-hand the damage shelling has caused to the facility and “noted with concern that the shelling could have impacted safety related structures, systems and components, and could have caused safety significant impacts, loss of lives and personnel injuries.”

In addition to the danger of the continued fighting around the facility, the agency says staff at Zaporizhzhia and other nuclear plants in Ukraine “have continued to show endurance and resilience in keeping the sites running in a safe and secure way amid the conflict.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has released a report about the nuclear?safety and security situation in Ukraine, including its findings from the mission to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP).

A team of the UN agency’s inspectors visited the plant last week.

In its report, the IAEA said the team witnessed shelling during its visit and called on both sides to cease the hostilities in the area.?

It listed some damages that the inspectors observed during their mission to the plant.

The UN agency’s report recommended that shelling on site and its vicinity “should be stopped immediately to avoid any further damages to the plant and associated facilities, for the safety of the operating staff and to maintain the physical integrity to support safe and secure operation. This requires agreement by all relevant parties to the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP.”

The Russian official appointed to be the commandant for the southeastern Ukrainian city of Berdiansk was injured when his car was blown up near the building of the civil-military administration, the mayor’s office said in a telegram post on Tuesday.?

“Today, September 6, in the very center of Berdiansk, near the building of the Military Civil Administration, the car of the city commandant Artem Bardin was blown up,” the mayor’s office said.?“As a result of the explosion, the city commandant was hospitalized in severe condition. Doctors are providing him with necessary medical care.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the explosion, but pro-Russian authorities blamed Ukraine.

“The terrorists of the Kyiv regime continue to try to intimidate residents of the liberated territories,” the pro-Russian mayor’s office said.?

There were not additional casualties but another three cars were damaged, authorities also said.?

As a report on the Zaporizhzhia power plant from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog after its visit last week is set to be released today, attacks continue around Ukraine.

Here are the latest headlines:

A powerful explosion in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar — adjacent to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — has cut water and electricity supplies, the city’s mayor has said.

“Today at 12:20 residents of Enerhodar reported about a powerful explosion in the city,” said mayor Dmytro?Orlov, who is not in the occupied city, on Telegram.

“After that, the electricity and water supply disappeared simultaneously in Enerhodar,” he added.

Separately, the Russian-backed authorities in the region said that a power line to the city had been damaged by Ukrainian shelling.

The military-civilian administration of Enerhodar said that?“as a result of the shelling, the power line in the area of the nuclear power plant was damaged, there is temporarily no electricity in the city.”

Vladimir Rogov, a senior official in the Russian-backed administration in occupied Zaporizhzhia, said there had been seven incoming shells.

The Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by state news agency RIA Novosti, claimed that Ukrainian forces had shelled Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant 15 times in the past day.

“Ukrainian artillery has launched a total of 20 projectiles, including three of them at the nuclear power plant,” said the ministry.

CNN is unable to confirm claims by either side of shelling or damage at and around the nuclear plant.

A Russian serviceman stands guard outside the second reactor of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, Ukraine, on May 1.

“The day has come,” Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared last Monday, marking the beginning of his journey to the largest nuclear plant in Europe that sits on the firing line between the Russian occupiers and Ukrainian forces.

Then on Thursday, a group of 14 inspectors led by Grossi?arrived?at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) in southern Ukraine, despite concerns about constant shelling in the area.

Since early March, when Russia captured the plant, international and local experts have voiced grave warnings, not only for the safety of the plant’s workers, but also for fear of a nuclear disaster that could affect thousands of people in the surrounding area.

Take a closer look at the perilous situation at the plant here.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a visit by members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission, on Friday, September 2.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to release a report on the nuclear?safety and security situation in Ukraine later today, including its findings from the mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Last Thursday IAEA chief Rafael Grossi led a 14-person mission to the plant, which has been held by Russian forces since March.

The area around the plant has seen persistent shelling for weeks, some of which has damaged the plant’s infrastructure, according to the?IAEA, raising fears of a nuclear incident.

On Monday, Ukraine’s state nuclear energy provider, Energoatom, said the plant was operating “with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety regulations.”

“Currently, only the 6th power unit remains in operation, which supplies electricity to the energy system of Ukraine and provides the Zaporizhzhia NPP’s (nuclear power plant’s) own needs,” it added.

Energoatom said the fifth power unit was disconnected on Saturday, blaming “repeated shelling by the Russian invaders” for damage to the communication line between the plant and the Ukrainian grid.

CNN is unable to confirm the allegation.?

As Ukrainian forces continue their offensive in the southern Kherson region, Russian media are reporting heavy bombardments around the town of Nova Kakhovka on the Dnipro river.?

The Russian backed administration of Nova Kakhovka said Tuesday the town “is once again shelled with rockets from the AFU [armed forces of Ukraine.] This is the eighth air raid alarm in a day.”

Quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Vladimir Leontiev, head of the administration, said: “There were 74 missiles overnight, incoming shells continued in the morning, they hit the road infrastructure, the hydroelectric power station.”

“Most of the missiles were repelled by air defense, day by day the results of the air defense are getting better and better,” Leontiev added.

Nova Kakhovka is home to a strategic hydroelectric power plant, and a bridge across the River Dnipro that has been frequently attacked by Ukrainian air strikes and artillery. The bridge is now thought to be impassable.

A missile attack sparked a heavy fire at an oil depot in central Ukraine, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration reported Tuesday.?

“There was a missile attack on Kryvyi Rih. Heavy fire at the oil depot. Firefighters and a fire engine are on the scene. The scale of the destruction and information about the victims are being clarified,” Valentyn Reznichenko posted on Telegram, alongside a photograph showing large clouds of black smoke.?

Reznichenko did not clarify when the fire first broke out.?

Ukrainian firefighters put out fire in a residential house after a Russian military strike in Bakhmut,?Donetsk?region,?on Monday.

Russian forces continue to shell Ukrainian towns and villages across the Donetsk region, but have made no progress on the ground, according to Ukrainian regional authorities.

Several towns in Donetsk were shelled on Monday, including Bakhmut and Avdiivka, and four civilians were wounded. No information was provided on Ukrainian military casualties.

The regional administration said that a mandatory evacuation in much of Donetsk was still in force.

Despite daily bombardments by Russian artillery, air strikes and tank fire, there has been virtually no change on the front lines in Donetsk for several weeks. Analysts say that after a string of losses in June on the border of Luhansk and Donetsk, Ukrainian forces have largely held their positions – and almost daily Russian assaults have been rebuffed. In recent days, Ukrainian units even advanced in one area across the Siverskiy Donets river, but it’s unclear how much resistance they met.

Ukrainian officials say the latest Russian assault was towards Bakhmut overnight Monday.

Further south in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, the?Russians shelled the Nikopol district across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the regional administration. Regional administrators said?11 homes and 20 high-rise buildings were damaged.

An apartment building in the middle of Ukraine’s second largest city was destroyed by Russian fire early Tuesday, said the head of the Kharkiv region military administration.

“As a result of the morning strikes in Kharkiv, an apartment building in the central part of the city was destroyed,” Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.

“Information about the victims is being clarified. There are no hospitalized patients at the moment.”

Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, said that a few survivors have been rescued from the rubble of the residential building.

“Three people have already been rescued from the ruins of a residential building — two women and a man. According to preliminary information they are not injured,” Terekhov said.

He said another shell had struck an administrative building but “there is no information on casualties as of now.”

Serhii Bolvinov, head of the Police Investigation Department in Kharkiv, said that two rockets had landed in the city center.

?“The types of rockets and the number of victims are being clarified,” he said.

An?artillery?fire competition between the?artillery?units under the Korean People's Army Corps 7 and Corps 9 takes place at a training ground in North Korea on March 12, 2020.

Russia is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield in Ukraine, a US official told CNN.

The?purchase indicates that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions, according to the official.

The US expects Russia could try to buy more military equipment from North Korea going forward, the source said.

The New York Times first reported the purchases.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers his nightly address on September 5 from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of intentionally deteriorating the situation around?the Zaporizhzhia?nuclear plant (ZNPP) after the power plant lost connection to the country’s energy grid on Monday.

A spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told CNN that the transmission line connecting Zaporizhzhia to the Ukrainian energy grid had been intentionally disconnected due to a fire. The spokesperson also said the line had not suffered any damage and would be reconnected as soon as the fire was extinguished.

Ukraine blamed Russia for the shelling, which, it said, caused the fire.

“Russia is only interested in keeping the situation at its worst for the longest time,” he added, explaining this was the second time the?Zaporizhzhia?nuclear power plant had been disconnected from the Ukrainian grid, bringing it “one step away from a radiation disaster.”

“This can only be amended by enhancing sanctions, only by officially recognizing Russia as a terrorist state – at all levels,” Zelensky concluded. “This requires an international response – starting with the UN to every normal state.”

Zaporizhia?Nuclear?Power Station, the largest nuclear plant in Europe and among the top 10 largest in the world, in Enerhodar,?Zaporizhzhia?Region, southeastern Ukraine, on July 9, 2019.

Ukraine’s state nuclear energy provider said Monday that four of the six members of the?International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection team still at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have left after completing their work, and that it expected the remaining two would remain at the facility “on a permanent basis.”?

This came hours after Vladimir?Rogov, a senior pro-Russian official in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia, said the IAEA’s current mission to the plant would end Tuesday, though he acknowledged uncertainty over the timeline.?

“There is still no clear understanding of whether?IAEA?representatives will stay at the nuclear power plant on a permanent basis,” Rogov said.

“The delegation is still working on September 5. After its mission ends, they leave on September 6. They have received all kinds of assistance. We are interested in an objective and balanced assessment of the situation at the nuclear power plant.”?

In brief comments to CNN Monday, a spokesperson for the?IAEA?would only say that two?IAEA?experts are staying at the plant. The organization’s Director General Rafael Grossi said during a visit to the plant last Thursday that the?IAEA?would keep a continuing presence there.?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed his country’s military has destroyed an important Russian ammunition depot where Moscow kept S-300 missiles it fired on the city of Kharkiv.

?“Good thing MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket Systems). Thank you, our heroes,” he concluded.

The Ukrainian president went on to promise retribution for the Russian shelling of several Ukrainian cities and towns.