11:26 a.m
Zelensky: “The Russians had the Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant in their sights”
Volodymyr Zelensky claimed in a video released last night that the attack, which damaged buildings near the Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant in the west of the country on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, was aimed at the power plant itself: “It is very likely that… “The target of these drones was the nuclear power plant.”
“This attack on the nuclear power plant once again reminds all our partners how important it is to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense and how dangerous it can be if Russia manages to evade international sanctions,” the Ukrainian president said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed concern about the shooting near the nuclear power plant. “This incident once again highlights the extremely precarious nuclear security situation in Ukraine, which will continue as long as this tragic war continues,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.
11:15 a.m
Slovakia announces cessation of military aid to Ukraine
New Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico today announced an end to arms sales to Ukraine and limited support to his neighbor to “humanitarian and civil assistance.” “We consider aid to Ukraine only as humanitarian and civil assistance, we will no longer supply weapons to Ukraine,” Robert Fico said the day after he was appointed head of a coalition government linked to a pro-Russian far-right party.
10:45 am
2 dead in Kherson region
According to the governor, bombing attacks by the Russian army in the Kherson region left two dead and four injured. A child is one of two people who died. On Telegram he states that the Russian army carried out 365 artillery attacks and air strikes within 24 hours.
10:43 am
Still fierce fighting for Avdiivka
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian army has gained ground around Avdiivka, northwest of Krasnohorivka. Russian soldiers have reached the railway line north of the city, reports Russian military blogger WarGonzo, quoted by Le Monde. For its part, the Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that the Russian army experienced unsuccessful offensives in four locations near Avdiivka.
09:16.
Vladimir Putin oversees test launches of ballistic missiles
After a unanimous vote in the lower house last week, the upper house of the Russian parliament on Wednesday approved the bill to withdraw from the international treaty banning nuclear tests. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, this decision raises fears of a new race for weapons of mass destruction.
08:44.
Moscow no longer wants to have anything to do with nuclear arms control
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov assured yesterday that his country will talk about nuclear arms control only when Washington, Ukraine’s main military and financial backer, stops being “hostile” to Moscow. Vladimir Putin, who in recent years has praised new Russian weapons that he said are capable of penetrating existing missile defense shields, assured that Russia was completing tests of two of them: the Bourevestnik and the Sarmat.
08:39.
F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots begins
A “small number” of Ukrainian pilots began F-16 training in the United States this week, according to an Air Force spokesman quoted by CNN. The pilots will train with the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing, a unit that specializes in training international partners on the fighter jet. The training should last “several months,” said the spokesman.
CNN recalls that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky has been urgently calling for F-16 fighter jets for months to better combat the barrage of Russian drone and missile attacks.
08:37.