Physical integrity of Zaporizhzhia plant ‘violated’, says UN nuclear chief

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...

Russia-Ukraine war: UN to maintain ‘continued presence’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant amid reports of shelling nearby – as it happened

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...

IAEA team arrive at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after shelling delay

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...

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow could expand conflict and should not be underestimated, warns Germany – as it happened

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...

First ship carrying grain from Ukraine docks on Horn of Africa

Food experts say shipment is drop in bucket for drought-hit Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia but hope supplies pick up

The first ship carrying grain from Ukraine for people in the hungriest parts of the world has docked at Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, as areas of east Africa are badly affected by deadly drought and conflict.

Food security experts say it is a drop in the bucket for the vast needs in the worst-hit countries of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, the country to which the shipment is going. But the flow of Ukrainian grain to other hungry parts of the world is expected to continue, with another ship leaving on Tuesday for Yemen. The UN World Food Programme has said it was working on multiple ships.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukrainian troops begin counter-offensive in south, says military command – as it happened

Southern command spokesperson says Ukrainian troops have begun long-awaited counter-offensive in Kherson region. This blog is now closed

‘There were a lot of mines around [the pitch]’, says the former captain of Obolon Kyiv’s second team. ‘Even now we are still afraid to kick the ball over the fence.’

Kostja Kovalenko describes the reality of life at the team’s training ground before their first match in Ukraine’s second tier, as the Guardian visits the outskirts of Bucha, a war-torn suburb of the capital.

Continue reading...

European gas shortages likely to last several winters, says Shell chief

Warning raises prospect of continued rationing, as Total boss says Europe has to plan for future without Russian supplies

Gas shortages across Europe are likely to last for several winters to come, the chief executive of Shell has said, raising the prospect of continued energy rationing as governments across the continent push to develop alternative supplies.

Cuts to the supply of Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine have plunged European countries into a devastating energy crisis, driving up wholesale prices to leave consumers facing huge bills and the highest rates of inflation since the 1980s.

Continue reading...

No let-up in shelling as UN team heads for Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Watchdog due to arrive in Kyiv as frequent attacks on Russian-occupied power station raise fears mission may be called off

A team of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog is due to arrive in Kyiv on Monday night en route to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power in southern Ukraine, where renewed shelling has cast a shadow over their planned visit.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, Rafael Grossi, said on Monday morning that a team led by him had set off to visit the power station on the Dnieper River. “We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” Grossi tweeted.

Continue reading...

Russia alleges second Ukrainian involved in Darya Dugina killing

Security service claims without evidence that man helped assemble car bomb that exploded near Moscow

Russia’s FSB security service has accused without evidence a second Ukrainian citizen of preparing the car bomb that killed the daughter of an ultranationalist Russian ideologue this month.

The FSB had previously claimed Ukrainian intelligence plotted the murder of Darya Dugina, a pro-war pundit who was killed when a bomb tore through the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving near Moscow after a conservative festival.

Continue reading...

Reports EU set to suspend visa travel agreement with Russia – as it happened

Plan to freeze 2007 deal will make it harder and more expensive for Russians to get Schengen-area documents, FT reports

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has signed a decree allowing Ukrainian passport holders who have entered Russia since Moscow’s offensive to live and work in the country indefinitely.

Until now, Ukrainians could stay in Russia only for a maximum of 90 days within a 180-day period. To stay longer or to work, special authorisation or a work permit was required.

In mid-August, we closed our offices and ceased all Russian operations.

Continue reading...

EU foreign ministers expected to suspend Russian tourist visa facilitation

Move comes as EU official says it is ‘inappropriate for Russian tourists to stroll in our cities’

The EU’s foreign ministers are expected to approve suspending the bloc’s visa facilitation agreement with Moscow next week, as Russian rocket and artillery strikes hit areas across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

The EU move, aimed at reducing the number of visas issued to Russian nationals after pressure from eastern member states, falls short of an outright ban but would make getting travel documents significantly more complicated and expensive.

Continue reading...

Ukraine braces for cold winter amid uncertainty over power supplies

Fears grow Russia will target country’s gas infrastructure or further cut its supplies to Europe

Ukrainians are likely to experience the coldest winter in decades, its gas chief has said, as the thermostats on its Soviet-era centralised heating systems are set to be switched on later and turned down.

Yurii Vitrenko, the head of the state gas company Naftogaz, said indoor temperatures would be set at between 17 and 18C, about four degrees lower than normal, and he advised people to stock up on blankets and warm clothes for when outdoor temperatures fall to and beyond the -10C winter average.

Continue reading...

Toxins in soil, blasted forests – Ukraine counts cost of Putin’s ‘ecocide’

Environmentalists are measuring the impact of Russian military’s devastation and hope to force Moscow into making reparations

The woods outside Chernihiv were quiet in late August when Anatoliy Pavelko scrambled into a 10-metre bomb crater with a trowel and an icebox full of sample jars. He wanted to find out what the Russian FAB-250 bomb left behind when it carved this gaping hole into the ground in the spring.

Four months earlier, the environmental lawyer was dug in on a frontline just a few kilometres away, shells crashing around him in the bitter fight to keep Russian forces out of Kyiv.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: risk of radioactive leak at ‘repeatedly shelled’ Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, operator warns – as it happened

Ukraine’s state energy operator: ‘There are risks of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances’

A US citizen has recently died in Ukraine, according to a state department spokesperson.

Officials are in touch with the family and are providing consular assistance, they added.

We also once again reiterate US citizens should not travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict and the singling out of US citizens in Ukraine by Russian government security officials, and that US citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options.

On August 26, Russians killed two civilians in Donetsk region – in Bakhmut. Twelve people were injured.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: EU to hold urgent talks over Russian ‘energy war’; Ukraine announces mandatory evacuations – as it happened

This live blog has now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

When Mikhail Sokolov signed up to work for the FSB security services, he never imagined his journey would end here: in a crowded refugee camp on the outskirts of a sleepy town in the rural Netherlands.

“The last six years were a rollercoaster. I am happy I am no longer in the claws of the FSB,” the former FSB informant and staffer for the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption network said in an interview with the Guardian this week.

[The new names] should perpetuate the memory of significant historical events of Ukraine, as well as famous figures and heroes who glorified Ukraine and fought for the independence of our state.”

Continue reading...