On the day the Russians accused Kiev forces of hitting the Chongar Bridge with rockets, which linked Crimea to the partially Moscow-held Kherson region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sounded the alarm that Russia was planning an attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is being considered. Accusation rejected by the Kremlin. Local officials appointed by Moscow reported the attack on the Crimean bridge. According to Vladimir Saldo, the pro-Russian governor of Kherson, the bridge was hit by British-supplied storm shadow missiles. The Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, is connected to the Ukrainian mainland by an isthmus about nine kilometers wide and several bridges. One of them, the Chongar, was hit by missiles, threatening a vital supply link to Russian forces in the early stages of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. The Russian military has relied on the Chongar Bridge as the main link for its forces in the Kherson region. Kiev, which does not normally comment on specific attacks, did not admit responsibility, but spokeswoman for the Southern Command of the Armed Forces Natalya Humenyuk stressed on television the importance of striking down Russian logistics. For its part, Moscow is trying to downplay the damage, stressing that while it could take weeks for the bridge to fully reopen, traffic can still continue in one lane and two other crossings are also available.
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In this regard, the alarm reached the Zaporizhia plant. “The secret service has received information that Russia is considering a terrorist attack scenario at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant: a terrorist attack with the release of radiation.” only the direction of the wind determines who it hits.” “We share all available information with our partners around the world. All evidence. Europe, America, China, Brazil, India, the Arab world, Africa: all countries, everyone needs to know that. International Organizations. Everyone,” he said again. And Zelenskyi’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak went one step further and called on the world to announce now what the consequences would be if the scenario were to materialize: “Whether the Kremlin decides to implement this scenario today depends only on the reaction of the global world.” The red lines need to be defined. The consequences must be announced. Not tomorrow. Today.” While Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov branded everything as “another lie” by Zelenskyy. What is certain is that the IAEA assumes that “the nuclear safety situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is extremely fragile,” said its director Rafael Grossi, “more than ever all parties fully abide by the basic principles of the IAEA “prevent nuclear accidents”.
However, from Stockholm, where the informal General Affairs Council was held, the EU Presidency, through the mouth of Swedish Europe Minister Jessika Roswall, stressed: “As for Ukraine, it is impressive to see the reform efforts made in the last year”, ” Despite exceptional circumstances, Ukraine has made significant progress”. As examples, Roswall cited “the draft law on the new Constitutional Court, the passage of a law on the media and a new law on public relations and the reform of important judicial bodies, the appointment of new anti-corruption bodies”. “I have no doubt that Ukraine will be part of our union,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday in London at the reconstruction conference, at which international pledges for 60 billion dollars were made.