Rare moment of joy in under-fire Ukrainian city as video shows Chichi being wheeled back on bicycle
A chimpanzee that escaped Kharkiv city zoo on Monday was persuaded to return by a zoo employee who wheeled it back on a bicycle.
Staff at the zoo in Ukraine’s second-biggest city were struggling to persuade Chichi, who had wandered around streets and a nearby park, to return to the zoo with them.
Continue reading...Hollywood actors included on Russia’s list of 25 new names excluded from country
Ben Stiller and Sean Penn have been banned from entering Russia following their outspoken support of Ukraine during the ongoing invasion.
Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs released a list on Monday of 25 new names that will be excluded from the country in response to “the ever-expanding personal sanctions by the … Biden Administration against Russian citizens”. Stiller and Penn are both included, along with political figures such as senators Mark Kelly, Rick Scott and Kyrsten Sinema.
Continue reading...Official says deal shows Russia continues to face supply shortages as invasion of Ukraine grinds on
Russia is buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to a newly declassified US intelligence finding.
A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the fact Russia’s defence ministry had turned to Pyongyang demonstrated that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions”.
Continue reading...Shelling at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant disconnects backup power line; Ukraine claims to repel Russian offensives in the east
Continue reading...Putin aide says relations could go ‘from bad to worse’ as Ukrainian pundits welcome new ‘iron lady’
Liz Truss’s imminent arrival in Downing Street as British prime minister has been greeted with scorn and scarcely veiled condescension from the Kremlin, but an outpouring of praise in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin’s chief spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, expressed concerns that relations might deteriorate in comments to reporters shortly before Truss was announced as the winner of the Tory leadership race.
Continue reading...Operator Energoatom says last transmission line cut because of a fire caused by shelling; EU and Ukraine sign aid deal
European gas prices rocketed as much as 30% on Monday after Russia said one of its main gas supply pipelines to Europe would stay shut indefinitely, stoking renewed fears about shortages and gas rationing in the EU this winter.
Reuters reports:
The benchmark gas price surged as high as 272 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) when the market opened after Russia said on Friday that a leak in Nord Stream 1 pipeline equipment meant it would stay shut beyond last week’s three-day maintenance halt.
The Dutch TTF October gas contract had eased to 256 euros, up 23% on the day by 0723 GMT but almost 400% higher than a year ago. This year’s price surge has squeezed struggling already consumers and forced some industries to halt production.
Continue reading...Kremlin blames western sanctions for failure to deliver gas through Nord Stream 1 pipeline
Russia will not resume in full its gas supplies to Europe until the west lifts its sanctions against Moscow, the Kremlin said, as concerns over Russian gas supplies continued to drive up energy prices.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, blamed sanctions “introduced against our country by western countries including Germany and the UK” for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
Continue reading...Russian state news agency says referendum plans on hold as Ukrainian attacks on key bridge over Dnieper River put pressure on troops
Russia-appointed officials in the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine say they are “pausing” a planned referendum on whether to become part of Russia because of attacks by Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine last week said it had launched offensives in several directions in the southern region but has since released few details and continues to insist on a “regime of silence” for strategic reasons.
Russian state news agency Tass reported that the head of Kherson’s authorities, Kirill Stremousov, said plans for a referendum on joining Russia had been “paused” because of the security situation.
Ivan Safronov could be handed record sentence after being tried on secret evidence behind closed doors
Moments before the journalist Ivan Safronov was told he would be facing 24 years in prison, a Russian prosecutor offered him a deal.
Sign a confession, she said during a final courtroom break, and she would recommend a 12-year sentence instead. Safronov answered immediately.
Continue reading...Artist who painted Melbourne mural of soldiers hugging has apologised and said his intention was ‘to promote peace’
The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia has slammed the painting of a large mural in Melbourne that shows Russian and Ukrainian soldiers hugging.
Vasyl Myroshnychenko said the mural near the CBD was “utterly offensive to all Ukrainians” and the artist “has no clue about the RU invasion of Ukraine”.
Continue reading...Zelenskiy urges EU to prepare fresh sanctions; Russia hits multiple residential targets in Mykolaiv
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pushed the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to prepare a fresh package of sanctions, including a ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens.
Russian forces have hit multiple residential targets in Mykolaiv overnight, according to its governor, Vitaliy Kim. He said homes were damaged, as well as three hospitals, two education facilities, a hotel and a museum. Pictures of the damage are coming through already.
A video showing Russian multiple-launch rocket systems firing from the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been published by the Insider. The footage, taken overnight on Friday into early Saturday morning, shows the missile launchers close to a power unit.
The Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, will visit Germany on Sunday – the first high-level Ukrainian official to visit the country in months. The trip is a sign of eased tensions after a rocky patch between Kyiv and Berlin.
Zelenskiy said Russia is using “poverty and political chaos” to attack the lives of all Europeans. In his evening address late on Saturday, the presidentsaid that by stopping the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Russia wanted to “destroy the normal life of every European”.
Russian forces are suffering from “morale and discipline issues” in addition to combat fatigue and high casualties, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. Troops’ main grievances probably continued to be around pay, including the high chance that “sizeable combat bonuses” were not being paid, the latest British intelligence update said.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been disconnected from its last remaining main power line to the grid and is relying on a reserve line, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Previously, there had been reports the plant in south-eastern Ukraine had been knocked offline in the early hours of Saturday amid sustained shelling that destroyed a key power line, according to local Russian-backed authorities.
Sweden has said it would provide liquidity guarantees to Nordic and Baltic energy companies worth “billions of dollars” in an effort to prevent a financial crisis sparked by Europe’s energy crunch.
The Russian energy company Gazprom has said Siemens Energy is ready to help repair broken equipment for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, but claimed there was nowhere available for them to carry out the work.
The European Union expects Russia to respect existing energy contracts but is prepared to meet the challenge if it fails to do so, the economic commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni, said.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has told Vladimir Putin that his country can play a facilitator role regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to his office.
Continue reading...Shutdown over ‘oil leak’ comes only hours after G7 nations agree to impose a price cap
Fears that Europe could be engulfed by a winter energy crisis reached new heights yesterday after the Russian energy supplier Gazprom extended the shutdown of gas flows it had imposed through its key Nord Stream 1 pipeline into Germany.
The seriousness of the situation is underlined by the fact that Russia kept gas supplies to Europe flowing even at the height of the Cold War. By contrast, the pipeline has now been shut down twice since the Russian invasion of Ukraine: for 10 days in July in addition to the current indefinite closure.
Continue reading...Nuclear energy facility now linked to grid with a reserve line; former leader buried without state honours. This blog is now closed.
The Russian energy major Gazprom has said Siemens Energy is ready to help repair broken equipment for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, but claimed there was nowhere available for them to carry out the work.
Gazprom, the state-owned oil and gas firm, extended the shutdown of gas flows through its key Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany on Friday evening, citing “malfunctions” on a key turbine along the pipeline.
In Kramatorsk, a rocket hit a food enterprise, injuring a person. Another one hit a light industry enterprise. A fire broke out there.
The city was shelled again. There were loud explosions on the outskirts. In Bylbasivka, private houses were damaged on Shkilna and Yaseneva Streets.
Continue reading...Russia’s Gazprom extends shutdown of Nord Stream pipeline 1; nuclear inspectors to remain at Zaporizhzhia plant; G7 puts price cap on Russian oil
Continue reading...State-owned Gazprom announces NordStream 1 pipeline to stay out of action citing turbine engine damage after EU announces upper limit on oil prices
Russian news agency Tass is carrying a quote from Alexander Volga, head of the Russian-imposed occupation administration of Enerhodar, the city where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) is located.
It reports he said on Russian television that eight people from the IAEA mission remain at the ZNPP, alongside four more people, who he described as service personnel who accompany them through their activities.
The IAEA mission must state that the presence of the military, the presence of weapons at the station, is a real threat to nuclear safety. This is obvious.
This mission is unique because there are no analogues in the history of the IAEA at all. Missions took place at objects that were controlled by states. But there was no such mission format as it is now.
Continue reading...IAEA head Rafael Grossi says his team will stay at Russian-held site in Ukraine to assess safety and damage
The “physical integrity” of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in south-eastern Ukraine has been “violated”, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said, as Ukraine’s authorities accused Russia of misleading the inspection mission.
After leading a team of inspectors to the Russian-occupied plant, the biggest nuclear power station in Europe, Rafael Grossi said that two IAEA experts would stay on permanently to provide constant monitoring and an uninterrupted flow of information to IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
Continue reading...Gazprom delays reopening Nord Stream pipeline 1; UN nuclear agency team plans to remain at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Continue reading...This live blog has now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the war here
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head, Rafael Grossi, has said the agency would consider establishing a continued presence at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“There has been increased military activity including this morning, until very recently, a few minutes ago … but weighing the pros and cons and having come so far, we are not stopping,” Reuters reports he told journalists before setting out for the nuclear power plant.
Today, at about 6am Moscow time, Ukrainian troops landed on the coast of the Kakhovka Reservoir, 3 km northeast of the ZNPP plant in two sabotage groups of up to 60 people in seven boats and attempted to seize the power plant. Measures have been taken to destroy the enemy, including with the use of army aviation.
In addition, from 8am Moscow time, the armed forces of Ukraine have been shelling the meeting point of the IAEA mission in the area of the settlement of Vasylivka and the ZNPP. Four shells exploded at a distance of 400m from the first power unit.
This is Martin Belam in London taking over the live blog from my colleague Samantha Lock. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
Continue reading...Inspectors on site after Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of trying to sabotage visit
UN inspectors have arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after being delayed for several hours by reports of shelling around Europe’s biggest atomic facility that led to one of its two working reactors being shut down.
The plant’s operator, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom, said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission was on site on Thursday after Russia and Ukraine had earlier accused each other of trying to sabotage the visit.
Continue reading...This live blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here
Conservative leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak said the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev will be “remembered by us all” and that he helped “bring peace to Europe”.
Boris Johnson has paid tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev, describing him as a man “who changed the world and unquestionably changed it for the better”.
Mikhail Gorbachev is one of those people who changed the world and unquestionably changed it for the better. When you look at what he did to make Europe whole, free, to give freedom to the countries of the former Soviet Union – it was quite an extraordinary thing.
And of course, Mikhail Gorbachev is one of those people who triggered a change, a series of changes, that perhaps he didn’t anticipate.
Continue reading...