International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will lead an inspection of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine this week.
(Bloomberg) — International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will lead an inspection of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine this week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned at the weekend that the situation at the plant remains dangerous, even after two power units were reconnected to the grid following an outage. Several strikes were reported near the site in recent days.
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Key Developments
- IAEA Monitors Will Visit Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant This Week
- Zelenskiy Reinforces Nuclear Warning After Disruption
- Germany Wants Power-Market Overhaul to Dampen Soaring Prices
- Germany to Reach October Gas-Storage Target Already Next Month
- European Gas Futures Plunge as Nations Rush to Fill Up Storage
- Why Ukraine Debt Relief Isn’t Matching Funding Needs: QuickTake
On the Ground
The city of Energodar near the Zaporizhzhia plant was shelled late Sunday, according to Ukrainska Pravda news site, which also reported that Russia hit the city of Sarny in Ukraine’s western Rivne region with missiles, striking a military infrastructure target. Russia struck Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv again, the regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram, while in Donbas several Russian attempts to conduct assaults in the vicinity of Slovyansk, Bakhmut and Avdiivka were unsuccessful, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.
(All times CET)
Russia to Ensure Security of IAEA Mission (10:15 a.m.)
Russia will ensure the security of a mission from the IAEA to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant this week, the Moscow-appointed occupation governor told state television.
“We’re not expecting big results from them because the Americans have all the European structures in their pocket,” Yevgeny Balitsky said on Rossiya-24. The delegation is expected to arrive “at the beginning of September,” he said, without specifying a date. Occupation authorities haven’t had any direct contact with the IAEA, but they are getting information from Russia, he said.
Balitsky said his officials would show the delegation evidence of what he said was shelling by Ukrainian forces. Kyiv has denied firing in the area around the plant.
Sweden Announces Aid for Ukraine (10 a.m.)
Half of Sweden’s 1 billion-krona ($93 million) aid package will involve military support and the other half help for the economy and reconstruction, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said at a press conference in Stockholm Monday as she received Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Sweden will also provide funds to the UN World Food Program, allowing it to buy 30,000 tons of wheat from Ukraine and ship it to countries at risk of famine, she said.
“The goal is for Ukraine to regain total control over your territory, within its internationally recognized borders,” Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said.
Grain Vessels to Depart Ukrainian Ports (8:15 a.m.)
Three commercial vessels carrying 72,985 metric tons of grain and food products were authorized to leave Ukraine on Monday, the Joint Coordination Centre said in an emailed statement. They are destined for Turkey, Romania and Egypt.
Zelenskiy Sacks Deputy National Guard Commander (8 a.m.)
The president dismissed Yaroslav Spodar as deputy commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, according to the Ukrinform site, which said that a decree notifying of the dismissal was published on the presidential website Sunday. It didn’t give any reason for the action.
Germany to Reach Gas-Storage Target Early (7:45 a.m.)
Germany’s economy ministry said gas-storage facilities are filling up faster than planned despite uncertainty over supplies through a key pipeline from Russia, and predicted that an October target of 85% capacity should already be reached early next month.
Germany has reduced its dependence on Russian gas from 55% before the war to about 30% now, and is moving to find alternative sources while filling storage facilities ahead of the winter.
Safety Systems Working at Nuclear Plant, Ukraine Tells IAEA (4 p.m.)
Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Thursday, Friday and Saturday hit buildings at the station that were just 100 meters from the reactor building, the IAEA said on Twitter, citing communication from the Ukrainian government. There was also damage to some water pipelines that have since been repaired, the IAEA said. All safety systems at the plant remain operational and radioactivity levels are normal, Ukraine told the IAEA.
EU Set to Suspend Visa Travel Agreement With Russia: FT (3 p.m.)
European Union foreign ministers are poised to support a suspension of the bloc’s visa facilitation agreement with Russia in a bid to curb the number of tourists allowed from the country, the Financial Times reported.
EU countries bordering Russia have called for a ban on Russian tourists, but under a compromise reported by Bloomberg earlier, Russians traveling to the bloc would have to pay more and withstand additional bureaucracy to obtain short-term visas.
Read more: Russians Face European Travel Hurdles as EU Mulls Restrictions
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