Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is expected to visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Wednesday. He described the situation there as “very dangerous” on Tuesday, a day after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Zaporizhzhia region. Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
6:47: Zelensky invites China’s Xi to visit Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has sent an invitation to the President of China Xi Jinping to visit, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
“We are ready to see him here,” Zelensky told the news agency in an interview.
Xi has not spoken to Zelensky since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February. However, China published a 12-point plan for “a political solution to the Ukraine crisis” last month.
Xi discussed the conflict with his “dear friend”, the Russian president Vladimir Putinduring a state visit to Moscow last week, although talks showed no progress on how to end the war.
ChinaThe proposal includes a call for a de-escalation and possible ceasefire in Ukraine.
06:27: Ukrainian forces shell Russian-occupied Melitopol, Russian media reports
Ukrainian forces have shelled the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Melitopol, south of the Zaporizhzhia region, and Russian media reported on Wednesday that as a result the city’s power supply had been cut.
Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, which has been occupied by Russian forces since last March, said on the Telegram messaging app that several explosions had gone off in the city.
Russia’s state news agency TASS, citing Moscow-based officials in the area, said Ukrainian shelling had damaged the city’s power supply system and knocked out electricity in the city and some nearby villages.
TASS also reported that a locomotive depot was destroyed, but according to initial information there were no injuries.
04:19: IAEA chief Rafael Grossi is to visit the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia
Rafael Grossi, head of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is expected on Wednesday at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is currently occupied by Russian forces. Grossi described the situation at the facility as “very dangerous” on Tuesday, a day after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Grossi has pushed for a proposal that would introduce measures aimed at ensuring the facility’s safety. One such measure would be to ensure that no one is allowed to fire on or from the facility and that heavy weapons are removed from the site.
After six power outages at the plant, which have forced emergency diesel generators to start to cool its reactors, Grossi has said the water level in a nearby reservoir controlled by Russian forces is another potential danger. If it drops below a certain level, it can no longer be used to cool the reactors, he said.
Grossi and his delegation are due to arrive at the site later this morning and leave in the afternoon, according to the TASS agency, citing an official from Russian operator Rosenergoatom. This is Grossi’s second visit to Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
03:06: Kiev urges Russians not to adopt Ukraine’s “stolen” children
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Tuesday urged Russians not to adopt children she said were “stolen” in Ukraine during the war and was deported to Russia.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier in March issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, charging them with the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.
The 13-month war Russia has waged against its neighbor has seen millions of people flee, including families and children. The number of children forcibly deported to Russia is impossible to determine.
02:02: Russian embassy says US wants to play down involvement in Nord Stream explosions
Russian Embassy in USA said on Wednesday that Washington is trying to play down damaging information about the alleged involvement of its intelligence services in last year’s blasts that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
Moscow failed on Monday to get UN Security Council to call for an independent investigation into explosions in September that blew up the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany and spewed gas into the Baltic Sea.
Russian officials reacted angrily, and the Kremlin said on Tuesday it would continue to demand an international investigation.
00:53: Biden calls Putin’s talks on nuclear expansion “dangerous”
United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday, Russia’s president blasted Vladimir Putins stated plan to deploy nuclear weapons in the neighboring country Belaruslabels it “dangerous” talk.
“This is dangerous kind of talk and it’s troubling,” Biden told reporters at the White House.
The Kremlin leader announced on Saturday that he ordered the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which is led by an authoritarian leader. Alexander Lukashenkoone of Moscow’s closest allies.
Important developments from March 28
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced yesterday that a decision on whether athletes competing for Russia and Belarus will be able to participate in the Paris 2024 Games would be made “at the appropriate time”.
Bach also defended a recommendation that nationals of the two countries could join other international sporting competitions as “individual neutral athletes”.
Ukraine welcomed the initiative to delay the decision on the Games. The head of Russia’s Olympic Committee condemned the recommendation for international competitions, calling the criteria, which include athletes having no ties to Russia’s military, “unacceptable.”
Also to note, Amnesty International released its annual report yesterday, in which it said outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed the West’s “double standards” against human rights abuses around the world.
Read FRANCE 24’s live blog for all the action from Tuesday 28 March.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
Originally published on France24
Source: sn.dk