The UN nuclear agency’s convoy is continuing toward the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant in southeast Ukraine. The facility has become a focus of the six-month-old war after its occupation and use by Moscow’s troops as a military base, stoking international alarm over a potential nuclear accident.
(Bloomberg) — The UN nuclear agency’s convoy is continuing toward the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant in southeast Ukraine. The facility has become a focus of the six-month-old war after its occupation and use by Moscow’s troops as a military base, stoking international alarm over a potential nuclear accident.
Rafael Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general, said Thursday the mission would press on despite “increased military activity” in the vicinity. “Having come so far, we are not stopping,” he said. Russia and Ukraine traded blame on shelling in the nearby Energodar area.
Russia is considering a plan to buy as much as $70 billion in yuan and other “friendly” currencies this year to slow the ruble’s surge. Meanwhile, Europe is considering various measures to intervene in energy markets rocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Key Developments
- IAEA Pushing Ahead Through Line of Fire to War-Struck Nuke Plant
- EU Members Back Tougher Visa Rules for Russian Tourists
- Russia Mulls Buying $70 Billion in Yuan, ‘Friendly’ Currencies
- Russia Points Conspiracy-Theory Factory at New Audience
- Putin, Who Mourned USSR Loss, Offers Gorbachev Faint Praise
- Europe Considers Energy Price Cap, Windfall Tax Amid Russia Risk
On the Ground
As Ukrainian forces push forward with a counteroffensive in the south, the situation in the Russian-occupied region of Kherson remains difficult because of heavy fighting, regional authorities said on their website. The Ukrainian military’s southern command said Kyiv forces continued to destroy Russian logistics and command points, as well as munitions depots, in the region as Russian forces shelled military and civilian objects along the front line. According to the UK’s latest intelligence update, Ukrainian forces have pushed the front line back some distance in places, exploiting relatively thinly held Russian defenses.
(All times CET)
Russia Mulls Buying $70 Billion in Yuan, ‘Friendly’ Currencies (10:20 a.m.)
Russia is considering a plan to buy as much as $70 billion in yuan and other “friendly” currencies this year to slow the ruble’s surge, before shifting to a longer-term strategy of selling its holdings of the Chinese currency to fund investment.
The proposal is among a slew of measures that would amount to an effective repudiation of more than a decade of economic policy as the Kremlin overhauls its strategy amid sweeping sanctions imposed by the US and its allies over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Europe Considers Energy Price Cap, Windfall Tax (10:02 a.m.)
Europe is considering various measures to intervene in the energy market, including price caps, reducing power demand and windfall taxes on energy companies as surging prices threaten the economy and push more households toward poverty.
The bloc’s energy ministers are due to discuss how to respond to the crisis at an emergency meeting next week. More and more governments are demanding a tool to limit the spike in electricity prices, though views on how it should be designed vary.
Europe Considers Energy Price Cap, Windfall Tax Amid Russia Risk
IAEA Chief Says ‘We’re Not Stopping’ as Monitors Head for Plant (8:22 a.m.)
UN atomic inspectors vowed to press on to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine despite shelling in adjacent areas.
“There has been increased military activity, including this morning,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said Thursday morning in the city of Zaporizhzhia, still a few hours away from the plant. “But weighing the pros and cons and having come so far we are not stopping.” The convoy departed the city around 7:15 a.m. CET, AFP reported.
Russian and Ukrainian officials traded blame on Thursday’s shelling near Energodar, The IAEA convoy, which traveled from Kyiv on Wednesday, must cross a so-called gray zone, where the last line of Ukrainian defense ends before the first line of Russian occupying forces begins.
Ukraine Looks to Degrade Russia’s ‘Situational Awareness,’ UK Says (7:33 a.m.)
Ukraine’s armed forces continued offensive operations in the south of the country Tuesday and Wednesday, with “intensive long-range strikes against Russian command and logistics locations across the occupied zone,” the UK defense ministry said in an update.
Russia’s military “prioritizes strong ground-based air defences — the radar coverage which enables this is a critical capability in its Ukraine operation,” the UK said, underlining the importance of the week’s action.
Solutions Sought to Reduce Russian Tourist Flow (7:49 p.m.)
The Baltic states will aim to impose regional restrictions for Russian visitors entering the European Union by land, as will Poland and Finland, according to two EU diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity. Officials from these countries intend to meet and discuss the measures as soon as next week, the diplomats said.
The countries “will aim to find solutions in coming weeks that would allow to significantly reduce the flows of the Russian tourists,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a statement.
Ukraine’s Forces Restrict Russian Moves: NATO Official (7:44 p.m.)
Recent action by Ukrainian forces in the south of the country has affected Russia’s ability to move north and south across the Dnipro River, but it’s not yet possible to confirm the extent of the Ukrainian advances, a senior NATO official said.
Ukrainian troops have conducted focused strikes on lines of communication, bridges and railroads, targeting components the Russians would need to provide additional forces to join those that moved into the western Kherson region to be the front line of defense, said the official, who asked not to be identified discussing the military situation.
Russian supply lines are being disrupted, if not severely challenged, as a result of the stepped-up Ukrainian operations, the official said.
Inspectors Poised to Enter Nuclear Plant, Ukraine Says (6:29 p.m.)
International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are poised to enter the grounds of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukraine’s president, said on Ukrainian television.
“They will now be discussing their mandate with the Russian side,” he said.
Ukraine expects a precise report from the inspectors on what is going on with the plant’s reactors and whether the remaining Ukrainian staff is sufficient to operate it safely, Podolyak said. He said the staff members are effectively Russian hostages, putting them under great psychological pressure.
Why Ukraine’s Big Nuclear Plant Raises Worries Again: QuickTake
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