Ukraine – live: Russia ‘conducts secret work’ at nuclear plant amid ‘terror act’ fears

Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator warned Russia may be crafting its own “dirty bomb” at an occupied nuclear plant, after accusing Kyiv of planning to use such a device in a false flag attack on its own soil.

Energoatom, which runs the Kremlin-held Zaporizhizhia power station, said Russian forces have performed secret work at the facility which the operator suspects to involve spent nuclear fuel.

The energy firm said it “assumes ... [the Russians] are preparing a terrorist act using nuclear materials and radioactive waste stored at [the plant].”

Russia plans to use a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting to repeat its baseless claim that Ukraine is preparing a “dirty bomb” attack to smear Moscow.

The foreign ministers of France, Britain and the United States have rejected Russia’s allegations as “transparently false” and aimed at laying grounds for an escalation in the nine month war.

Kyiv asked UN inspectors to visit nuclear sites in Ukraine in an apparent attempt to gather evidence against Russia’s claim.

Key Points

• Moscow taking ‘dirty bomb’ claim to UNSC

• IAEA to probe nuclear sites at Kyiv’s request

• German president makes first visit to Ukraine

Russia 'working in secret’ at occupied nuclear plant

15:10 , Liam James

Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator said Russian forces were performing secret work at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that could shed light on Russia’s claims that Kyiv’s forces are preparing a false flag attack involving a radioactive device.

Energoatom, the Ukrainian state enterprise that operates the country’s four nuclear power plants, said Russian forces have carried out secret construction work over the last week at the Zaporizhzhia plant.

Russian officers controlling the area would not give access to Ukrainian staff running the plant or monitors from the UN’s atomic energy watchdog that would allow them to see what they are doing, Energoatom said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Energoatom said it “assumes ... [the Russians] are preparing a terrorist act using nuclear materials and radioactive waste stored at [the plant].”

It said there were 174 containers at the plant’s dry spent fuel storage facility, each of them containing 24 assemblies of spent nuclear fuel.

“Destruction of these containers as a result of explosion will lead to a radiation accident and radiation contamination of several hundred square kilometres of the adjacent territory,” the company said.

It called on the International Atomic Energy Agency to assess what was going on.

German president finally visits Kyiv after Ukrainian snub

14:59 , Liam James

German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier has arrived in Kyiv on his first visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began nine months ago.

On setting foot in the Ukrainian capital, Mr Steinmeier said his trip was a “signal of solidarity” amid a renewed Russian bombing campaign and fears that Moscow seeks to further escalate the war.

He said: “My message to the people of Ukraine is: You can rely on Germany!”

Besides military support, Mr Steinmeier said, his trip would focus on helping to repair destroyed infrastructure, such as power grids, water pipes and heating systems, as quickly as possible before winter arrives.

The German president, whose position is largely ceremonial, made it to Ukraine on his third try.

German president finally visits Kyiv after Ukrainian snub

Russia ‘generally supports’ nuclear plant safety zone

14:36 , Liam James

A senior Russian official said on Tuesday that Moscow was generally supportive of the idea of creating a safe zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the Tass news agency reported.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international institutions in Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is based, was responding to long-standing calls by the UN nuclear watchdog for a de-escalation of the conflict near the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility.

“The essence [of the IAEA proposal] in a nutshell is that you cannot shoot from the territory of the nuclear station and you cannot shoot at the station. Quite a reasonable idea, which we generally support. The question, as always, is in the details,” Tass quoted Mr Ulyanov as saying.

Chechen leader advocates ‘wiping out’ Ukrainian cities

14:31 , Liam James

The Kremlin-backed head of the Russian region of Chechnya has called for wiping out entire cities in Ukraine in retaliation for Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s territory.

Authorities in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions that border Ukraine have repeatedly reported Ukrainian shelling that damaged infrastructure and residential buildings.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the regional leader of Chechnya, previously sent troops from the region to fight in Ukraine. He said Tuesday that Russia’s response to the alleged Ukrainian attacks has been too subdued.

“Our response has been too weak,” Kadyrov said in a statement posted on his messaging app channel. “If a shell flies into our region, entire cities must be wiped off the face of the Earth so that they don’t ever think that they can fire in our direction.”

Mr Kadyrov has repeatedly made hawkish statements urging the Kremlin to intensify the war in Ukraine.

Finland detects underwater explosions in Russian waters

14:08 , Liam James

Finnish seismologists detected five underwater blasts in Russian waters in the Baltic Sea last week, the Helsinki University Institute of Seismology said today.

“We have detected five explosions, the largest of them having been of 1.8 in magnitude and the smallest of 1.3,” the institute’s director Timo Tiira told Reuters, referring to the Richter scale used to describe the intensity of seismic activity.

Four explosions were recorded on Thursday and one on Friday in Russian territorial waters in the Gulf of Finland, Mr Tiira said, adding it had been clear that the observations had been caused by blasts and not by other seismic activity.

“It can be seen in the shape of the signal and in the content of its frequency,” he said.

The institute did not know what had caused the blasts but that similar disturbances had been detected during previous naval drills and sweeping of old mines from the sea bottom, Mr Tiira said.

“We have detected explosions in that same area before, but not very often, not even every year,” he said.

Zelensky congratulates Rishi Sunak

13:36 , Liam James

The President of Ukraine has congratulated Rishi Sunak on becoming prime minister.

In a tweet, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Congratulations to Rishi Sunak on taking office as Prime Minister!

“I wish you to successfully overcome all the challenges facing British society and the whole world today.

“I’m ready to continue strengthening the strategic partnership together!”

During the Conservative party’s leadership race, Ukraine had made no secret of its desire for the return of former prime minister Boris Johnson, who was fiercely supportive of Kyiv’s fight against Russia.

Norway arrests suspected Russian spy

13:04 , Liam James

Norwegian police on Monday arrested a suspected Russian spy in the Arctic town of Tromsoe, public broadcaster NRK reported today, citing the Nordic country’s PST security service.

NRK reported that the PST said it believed a Brazilian researcher at University of Tromso was really a Russian citizen working for the Kremlin.

Ukraine war ‘must be seen to its conclusion’, says Rishi Sunak

12:18 , Liam James

Britain’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak said the war in Ukraine must be seen successfully to its conclusion, as he reiterated UK support for Kyiv defence against the Russian invasion.

Mr Sunak also said his domestic position was made more difficult due to the energy crisis being driven by the Russian invasion.

French president Emmanuel Macron congratulated Mr Sunak on becoming the new prime minister and said he would look to work with him on common challenges such as the war in Ukraine.

Italy will not give in to Putin’s blackmail, says new PM

11:36 , Liam James

Italy’s new government will support Ukraine and will not give into “blackmail” from Vladimir Putin, Italy’s new prime minister Giorgia Meloni told parliament today.

Ms Meloni’s right-wing government took office over the weekend and has quickly moved to dispel fears that it would lead Italy astray from Europe’s united front against Russia.

“Giving in to Putin’s blackmail on energy would not solve the problem, it would exacerbate it by opening the way to further demands and blackmail,” Ms Meloni said in her maiden speech to the lower house of government.

She added that her government, which was sworn in at the weekend, would look to increase financial support for families and firms hit by the energy crisis.

Car bomb injures five in Russian-occupied Melitopol – reports

11:04 , Liam James

A car explosion near the office of a tv channel in Russian-occupied Melitopol has injured at least five people, officials said.

The city’s Russian-controlled administration’s Telegram channel said the blast hit the buidling of ZaMedia – a Russian propaganda broacaster.

The Telegram post said: “The blast wave in the building on several floors took out windows and interior doors. Neighbouring residential buildings and a car passing by at the time of the explosion were also damaged.

“Five people were slightly injured, including employees of the media holding, one was hospitalised.

“The TV channel and radio studio continue their work.”

Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian elected mayor of Melitopol, also reported the explosion. He shared the below photographs in a post about the explosion.

EU chief urges Ukraine reconstruction

10:20 , Liam James

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has urged international partners to help Ukraine rebuild swiftly.

“We have no time to waste, the scale of destruction is staggering. The World Bank puts the cost of the damage at €350bn (£304bn),” she told a reconstruction conference for Ukraine in Berlin.

Volodymyr Zelensky, appearing on video link, said Russia had destroyed one-third of Ukraine’s energy sector and complained that Kyiv had not seen “a single cent” of a requested rapid recovery fund worth €17bn.

Ms von der Leyen said the EU would send €1bn in emergency assistance.

Germany said the conference, which it is hosting as part of its year-long G7 presidency, aims to develop a “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine.

Russia turning to high-risk helicopter attacks on front line – MoD

09:25 , Liam James

Russia is likely turning to risky helicopter attacks to support its troops on the front line in Ukraine, as Moscow struggles to get a hold on the skies, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Strikes from Russian jets have proved ineffective on the front line so far, while Moscow’s artillery stocks are running low, the MoD said.

Attack helicopters are often flying in high-risk conditions without the expected level support from jets, the MoD said, pointing to heavy losses of the Russian air fleet.

“There have been at least 23 verified losses of Russia’s Ka-52 Hokum attack helicopter in Ukraine since the invasion. This represents over 25 per cent of the Russian Air Force’s in-service fleet of 90 Ka-52s, and nearly half of Russia’s total helicopter losses in Ukraine,” the MoD said.

German president makes surprise visit to Kyiv

08:54 , Liam James

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has arrived in Ukraine for a surprise visit, his first since Russia invaded the country on 24 February, his office said in a statement.

Mr Steinmeier said he was looking forward to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“My message to the people of Ukraine is: You can rely on Germany!” he said in the statement.

Besides military support, Mr Steinmeier added, his trip would focus on helping to repair destroyed infrastructure, such as power grids, water pipes and heating systems, as quickly as possible before winter arrives.

The German president was set to visit last Thursday but the trip was cancelled at short notice after the Russian bombing of Kyiv. German chancellor Olaf Scholz has previously visited Ukraine.

Moscow to bring ‘dirty bomb’ claim to UNSC

08:21 , Liam James

Russia plans to raise its “dirty bomb” claim at the UN Security Council (UNSC) today after being rebuffed by Ukrainian allies.

The Kremlin’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia sent a letter to the United Nations late last night on its allegation that Ukraine would use an radioactive explosive on its own territory to blame Moscow for nuclear warfare.

“We will regard the use of the dirty bomb by the Kyiv regime as an act of nuclear terrorism,” Mr Nebenzia wrote to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UNSC in the letter, seen by Reuters.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s claim suggested Moscow was planning to launch such an attack and blame Kyiv.

The foreign ministers of France, Britain and the United States rejected Moscow’s allegations as “transparently false”.

“The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation,” they said in a joint statement.

Later, the United States issued a warning to Moscow. “We’ve been very clear with the Russians ... about the severe consequences that would result from nuclear use,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. “There would be consequences for Russia whether it uses a dirty bomb or a nuclear bomb.”

Nuclear inspectors to probe ‘dirty bomb’ claims

07:49 , Liam James

The UN nuclear watchdog is preparing to send inspectors in the coming days to two Ukrainian sites at Kyiv’s request, after Russia claimed Ukraine could deploy a “dirty bomb” in a false flag attack.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is aware of statements made by the Russian Federation on Sunday about alleged activities at two nuclear locations in Ukraine,” the IAEA said in a statement, adding that both were already subject to its inspections and one was inspected a month ago.

“The IAEA is preparing to visit the locations in the coming days” to look for any possible undeclared nuclear activities and material, it added.

Russian state media said the two sites involved in the operation were the Eastern Mineral Enrichment Plant in central Dnipropetrovsk and the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv.

The IAEA did not name the facilities it would inspect.