Russia-Ukraine updates: Russia strikes land near Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant (VIDEO)
Monday, 19 September 2022 (15:28 IST)
Russian missiles struck the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv province overnight, Ukraine's state energy company Energoatom said on Monday.
A blast took place 300 meters (320 yards) away from the reactors just after midnight, Energoatom said.
The company posted photos of a impact crater on social media, including one in which a man stood inside the crater to give a sense of its size.
"Currently, all three power units of the PNPP (Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant) are operating normally," Energoatom said. "Fortunately, there were no casualties among the station staff."
However, the attack did damage power buildings at the power plant complex as well as transmission lines for a nearby hydroelectric plant.
Later on Monday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of endangering the rest of the world.
"The invaders wanted to shoot again, but they forgot what a nuclear power plant is," Zelenskyy said in a post on social media. "Russia endangers the whole world. We have to stop it before it's too late."
Russian authorities have not yet responded to the accusations.
The blast near the Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant comes after the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power plant further east was shut down earlier this month due to Russian shelling, prompting concerns about a possible nuclear disaster. That facility is now under Russian military control.
Russia denies Izium atrocities
The Kremlin on Monday has denied allegations that Russian troops had committed war crimes near Izium — the Ukrainian town where authorities found more than 400 bodies at a mass burial site.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian investigators who are exhuming bodies from the shallow graves said they found evidence of torture and execution, including bodies with their hands tied. They accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.
"It's the same scenario as in Bucha," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, referring to the actions of Russian troops in Bucha in April. "It's a lie, and of course we will defend the truth in this story."
Baltic states bar Russian tourists
From Monday, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Poland, will enforce a temporary joint ban on Russian citizens who want to cross the border in to the EU.
The four countries no longer permit Russian citizens with a Schengen visas to enter their territory for tourism, business, sport or cultural purposes.
However, exceptions will apply for Russians who are already permanent residents in any of the four countries, as well as for political dissidents and humanitarian cases.
"We should use all the tools in the toolbox to make Russia stop this war," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Saturday.
Russia losing more fighter jets, UK says
Russia has likely lost at least four combat jets in Ukraine over the past 10 days, the United Kingdom's defense ministry said in an intelligence update on Monday.
That would bring Russia's total hull losses to 55 since the invasion of Ukraine started in late February. British intelligence says Russia's lack of air superiority has been a key weakness in its invasion strategy to date.
"There is a realistic possibility that this uptick in losses is partially a result of the Russian Air Force accepting greater risk as it attempts to provide close air support to Russian ground forces under pressure from Ukrainian advances," the UK defense ministry said.
"Russian pilots' situational awareness is often poor; there is a realistic possibility that some aircraft have strayed over enemy territory and into denser air defense zones as the front lines have moved rapidly," it added.
Catch up on DW's latest reporting on the war in Ukraine
A top US military general has warned UKraine and the West to remain vigilant over how Russia might react to setbacks on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said there will be no "lull" in retaking territory.
DW reports on the leaders' comments and other developments from the weekend.
As Ukrainian workers continue to exhume bodies at the Izium mass burial site
DW spoke to the investigators who believe war crimes took place.
Dubbed "NAFO," a global internet army employs witty memes — most featuring a Shibu dog — to challenge Russian disinformation online.
Jordan Maris, head of the #NAFO delegation to the European Parliament, tells DW their power lies in mockery rather than truth-telling.
