Russia-Ukraine war latest news: Putin’s forces seize nuclear power plant after shelling starts fire – live | World news
by · March 4, 2022
06:26
Otaci is a Moldovan border city, on the alternative facet of the Dniester River lies the Ukrainian metropolis of Mohyliv-Podilskyi.
As refugees spill over the bridge that hyperlinks the 2, native persons are rallying collectively to offer them with heat meals, shelter, web and free onward journey in automobiles and taxis.
Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February, greater than 1 million individuals have fled throughout the closest borders. The battle might outcome within the ‘largest refugee disaster this century’, the UN refugee company has warned, with as much as 4 million individuals fleeing the nation within the coming weeks and months.
To this point, greater than 98,000 refugees have entered Moldova, Europe’s poorest nation.
‘I’m pregnant, I left my husband behind’: the individuals compelled to flee Putin’s conflict in Ukraine – video
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06:05
Abstract
The time in Ukraine is 1.05pm. Here’s a roundup of the primary tales from the day up to now:
A hearth broke out in a coaching constructing outdoors a nuclear energy plant in Zaporizhzhia within the early hours of Friday after shelling by Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities mentioned.
After burning for at the very least 4 hours amid experiences Russian troops had prevented emergency groups from attending to the blaze, Ukrainian emergency companies confirmed the blaze was extinguished at 6.20am native time.
The facility plant has reportedly been seized by Russian army forces, in keeping with regional authorities.
The Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA) earlier mentioned it had put its Incident and Emergency Centre in “full 24/7 response mode” as a result of “critical scenario” unfolding at Zaporizhzhia.
Nevertheless, US power secretary Jennifer Granholm offered reassurance surrounding the Zaporizhzhia energy plant reactors, saying there was no elevated radiation readings close to the power and the plant’s reactors are “protected by strong containment buildings and reactors are being safely shut down”.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, made a contemporary enchantment to Europe for assist following the assault on the nuclear plant. He mentioned: We warn everybody that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear energy stations. For the primary time within the historical past of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism.”
Nato’s secretary basic Jens Stontenberg has mentioned the assaults by Russia on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – the most important in Europe – spotlight the “recklessness” of Vladimir Putin’s conflict.
Forty-seven individuals have been killed in Russian airstrikes on a residential district of the Ukrainian metropolis of Chernihiv on Thursday, regional authorities mentioned.
Russia’s communications watchdog has restricted entry to a number of international information organisations’ web sites together with the BBC and Deutsche Welle for spreading what it described as ‘false data’, amid friction about reporting on Ukraine.
Russian forces proceed to management each native and regional authorities buildings within the strategically essential Black Sea port ofKherson, native authorities mentioned. Russian forces gave the impression to be shifting to chop Ukraine off from the ocean through its key southern ports, claiming the seize of Kherson and tightening the siege of Mariupol.
Concern is mounting over the actions of a big column of Russian army automobiles outdoors Kyiv. Whereas a US defence official recommended it appeared to have “stalled”, there was additionally hypothesis that an estimated 15,000 troops hooked up to it might be regrouping and ready for logistical provides earlier than an assault on the capital.
Vladimir Putin is “in danger” of ending up in jail for conflict crimes carried out by his Russian forces in Ukraine, the British justice secretary mentioned on Friday.
The Russian parliament has handed a legislation that makes it a felony offence to unfold “pretend” details about its armed forces.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for now. I’ll be again at 2pm however my colleague Léonie Chao-Fong can be alongside shortly.
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05:52
Lisa O’Carroll
British immigration minister Kevin Foster has refused to seem earlier than a parliamentary committee to clarify the nation’s response to the rising Ukrainian refugee disaster.
The house affairs committee has urged him to rethink “given the urgency of the scenario”.
In an announcement, it mentioned:
Parliamentary under-secretary of state for immigration and future borders, Kevin Foster MP, has declined an invite from the house affairs committee to provide proof on the UK’s response to the Ukraine refugee disaster.
The committee had issued the invitation to grasp what the UK was doing to offer assist and refuge to individuals leaving Ukraine following the invasion by Russia. It’s estimated that 1 million individuals have been displaced by the battle.
Given the urgency of the scenario, the committee has requested the minister to rethink.
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05:50
Following the information that the BBC has been blocked in Russia, the outlet has been fast to remind individuals it may be accessed through the ‘darkish internet’.
The BBC linked to an article from 2019 on Twitter that helps customers entry its content material in restricted international locations.
BBC Information Expertise (@BBCTech)
BBC Information is obtainable on the darkish internet in Ukrainian and Russian: https://t.co/KdCPfTTO7P
Nevertheless, whether it is already blocked for the person, the Twitter web page additionally supplies some direct hyperlinks for “darkish internet” entry to its information web site.
Russia’s communications watchdog has restricted entry to a number of international information organisations’ web sites together with the BBC and Deutsche Welle for spreading what it described as ‘false data’, amid friction about reporting on Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly complained that western media organisations provide a partial – and infrequently anti-Russian – view of the world whereas failing to carry their very own leaders to account for devastating international wars similar to Iraq and corruption, Reuters reported.
The watchdog mentioned on Friday it had blocked the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and different media retailers, Interfax information company reported.
The BBC mentioned it could not be deterred. “Entry to correct, impartial data is a basic human proper which shouldn’t be denied to the individuals of Russia, hundreds of thousands of whom depend on BBC Information each week,” it mentioned.
“We are going to proceed our efforts to make BBC Information obtainable in Russia, and throughout the remainder of the world.”
Some customers in Russia couldn’t entry the BBC’s web site on Friday.
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05:11
Hannah Devlin
Following the hearth on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant the director basic of the Worldwide Atomic Power Authority, Rafael Mariano Grossi, mentioned on Friday that he has provided to journey to the Chernobyl web site to facilitate a negotiation between Ukraine and Russia.
The purpose could be to agree a framework to ensure security of nuclear vegetation throughout the battle, together with how to make sure the bodily integrity of websites, sustaining energy, security monitoring programs and that employees at websites are in a position to fulfil duties. Each side are contemplating the proposal.
“The scenario continues to be extraordinarily tense and difficult,” mentioned Grossi. He added:
The bodily integrity of the plant has been compromised with what occurred final evening. we’re lucky that there was no launch of radiation and the integrity of the reactors themselves weren’t compromised.
I’ve indicated to each the Russian Federation and Ukraine my availability and disposition to journey to Chernobyl as quickly as attainable.
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04:55
Damian Carrington
Two consultants have provided some reassurance that the army exercise at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant is unlikely to trigger a significant nuclear incident.
Dr Mark Wenman, reader in nuclear supplies at Imperial School London, mentioned:
The Zaporizhzia nuclear plant has six VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor models producing 20% of Ukraine’s electrical energy.
The plant is a comparatively fashionable reactor design and as such the important reactor parts are housed inside a closely metal strengthened concrete containment constructing that may face up to excessive exterior occasions, each pure and man-made, similar to an plane crash or explosions.
The reactor core is itself additional housed in a sealed metal stress vessel with 20cm thick partitions. The design is loads totally different to the Chernobyl reactor, which didn’t have a containment constructing, and therefore there isn’t a actual danger, in my view, on the plant now the reactors have been safely shut down.
Prof Tom Scott, on the College of Bristol, UK mentioned:
Shelling nuclear energy vegetation is in opposition to the Geneva conventions and that is clearly very worrying. The excellent news is that radiation ranges across the plant are reportedly regular and 5 of the six reactors at the moment are turned off, with one nonetheless working.
The reactors are all pressurised water reactors and therefore don’t have graphite cores which might set on hearth as per Chernobyl. Their inherent security design ought to imply they’re naturally fairly resilient to any exterior perturbations and therefore I’m not overly involved that inadvertent harm might trigger a significant nuclear incident.
Nevertheless, it could be extra regarding if the reactors have been being intentionally focused to induce a nuclear incident.
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04:34
Daniel Boffey
Forward of a busy day of diplomacy in Brussels, Nato’s secretary basic Jens Stontenberg has mentioned the assaults by Russia on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – the most important in Europe – spotlight the “recklessness” of Vladimir Putin’s conflict.
He mentioned:
We condemn the assaults on civilians and in a single day we’ve got additionally seen the experiences in regards to the assaults in opposition to a nuclear energy plant. This simply reveals the recklessness of this conflict and the significance of ending it.
And the significance of Russia withdrawing all its troops and interesting in good religion in diplomatic efforts.
Nato secretary gneral Jens Stoltenberg throughout a joint information convention earlier than a international ministers’ assembly in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday. {Photograph}: Yves Herman/EPA
British international secretary Liz Truss is in Brussels for a gathering of Nato ministers and later she’s going to be a part of EU international ministers who’re additionally internet hosting Ukraine’s international minister Dmytro Kuleba, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken, Canada’s international minister Mélanie Joly and Stoltenberg.
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04:26
Russia’s defence ministry has sought accountable an assault on the web site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant in Ukraine on Ukrainian saboteurs.
Ukraine mentioned Russian forces attacked the plant within the early hours of Friday, setting an adjoining five-storey coaching facility on hearth, in an incident that provoked worldwide condemnation of Moscow, every week into its invasion of Ukraine.
A Russian defence ministry spokesman mentioned the nuclear plant was working usually and the world had been beneath Russian management since 28 February, Reuters reported.
“Nevertheless, final evening on the territory adjoining to the facility plant, an try was made by the Kyiv nationalist regime to hold out a monstrous provocation,” spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying.
Satellite tv for pc picture from Google displaying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. {Photograph}: Google Earth
In the meantime, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed on to Russians to stage protests over the seizure of nuclear energy infrastructure by Russian troops in Ukraine.
“Russian individuals, I wish to enchantment to you: how is that this attainable? In any case we fought collectively in 1986 in opposition to the Chernobyl disaster,” he mentioned in a televised deal with.
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04:06
Helen Pidd
Within the UK, the mayor of Salford has written to Michael Gove to ask for assist to chop ties with the Russian power agency Gazprom, warning that “state-owned and/or backed Russian organisations and companies are nonetheless woven inextricably into the supply of Native Authorities companies inside the UK”.
Paul Dennett desires his native authority to not need to renew its non-domestic pure gasoline contract with Gazprom, agreed in June 2020 when the Russian agency far outbid home suppliers.
He says that councils throughout the nation additionally use Gazprom as a result of it’s so less expensive than different firms and so mechanically wins procurement competitions.
Gazprom additionally supplies power to a lot of NHS trusts. On Thursday, the well being secretary Sajid Javid started talks with NHS England (NHSE) over ending the contracts, that are reported by Politico to have been value £16m in 2021.
“Our contract can be up for renewal in June, and I don’t want for public cash to be spent in direction of the revenue of the Russian state throughout the current army disaster in Ukraine. Nevertheless, at current beneath the present spherical of sanctions and/or guidelines, such issues would seemingly not be thought-about legally related in assessing Gazprom’s suitability for profitable the following tendering train (or not),” Dennett writes in a letter to Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up.
Dennett says Salford is absolutely supportive of the federal government’s acknowledged ambitions to “inflict devastating penalties on President Vladimir Putin and Russia” following Russia’s unprovoked assault on the sovereign nation of Ukraine, utilizing sanctions and different monetary measures.
The brand of Gazprom firm is seen on the facade of a enterprise centre in St Petersburg, Russia. {Photograph}: Anton Vaganov/Reuters
“Nevertheless, state-owned and/or backed Russian organisations and companies are nonetheless woven inextricably into the supply of native authorities companies inside the UK, and at current their involvement in bidding for tenders and contracts is enshrined in UK public procurement rules for the procurement and tendering of companies,” writes Dennett.
He desires Gove to vary the legislation to make it simpler for native authorities to interrupt ties with Gazprom and cease Gazprom pitching for alternative contracts, even when it means having to pay extra for municipal power.
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