The mission of the IAEA inspectors continues to monitor the conditions of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant , around which the forces of Moscow and Kiev engaged in the conflict in Ukraine have been fighting for months. At the arrival of the delegation there were gunshots and artillery shells, with the two armies in the field that have dribbled accusations and counter-accusations on the responsibilities.
The director general of the IAEA Rafael Grossi, once he returned to the territory controlled by Kiev after the inspection, said that " the physical integrity of the plant has been repeatedly violated , it is something that cannot continue to happen". A group of IAEA experts, he added, will remain "for a long time" at the plant.
Meanwhile, the European Union has taken another step against Russia.
As announced yesterday by Josep Borrell , high representative of EU foreign policy, Europe has decided to suspend the agreement with Moscow on visa facilitation . A decision that, however, does not find unanimity. Hungary, in fact, explained that "there is no consensus on the visa ban for Russians in the Union, while Moscow reacted drastically to the measure:" On visas - the Kremlin said - we will adopt responses that the EU does not expect ”, warning:“ Stopping the agreement will not remain without consequences ”.
In Moscow, meanwhile, it is yellow about the death of Ravil Maganov , vice president of the oil giant Lukoil . According to some sources, he died after falling from a window of a Moscow hospital, where he was hospitalized. The company, on the other hand, confirms the death, but speaks generically of a "serious illness" , without mentioning the accident.
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The news by the hour:
Moscow calls for a UN meeting on Zaporizhzhia
Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council for September 6 on the alleged bombing by Ukraine of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. This was stated by the Russian deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, stating that the request comes "in light of the continuous bombing of the plant by Ukraine and the reckless attempt by the Kiev regime to derail the visit of the Aiea mission" .
Moscow asked that the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the head of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, also attend the meeting.
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Kiev: "Strange that the Aiea mission lasted only two hours"
Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, considers it "very strange" that the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lasted only two hours but reserves the right to see the experts' report.
"It is very strange, in my opinion - he says speaking on TV, as reported by Ukraine Pravda - The Ukrainian side believes that a mission of this level is mainly an engineering, nuclear-physical mission, it did not come just to look at the room. dining rooms or certain rooms, but it is a mission that has specific algorithms to study what happens to the control mechanism of such a complex infrastructure as a nuclear power plant. There is a safety hazard, so it is surprising that it only lasted 2 hours. But the IAEA says it will keep a number of its members permanently there. We'll see. "
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Aiea: "The integrity of the plant is violated"
"The physical integrity of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant" has been "violated". This was stated by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, after the inspection which took place today.
"The physical integrity of the plant has been repeatedly violated," Grossi told the media on his return to the territory controlled by Kiev. "This is something that cannot continue to happen," he added.
Grossi also made it known that a group of IAEA experts will remain "for a long time" at the plant.
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Putin: "Donbass residents consider themselves Russians"
Donbass residents see themselves as part of the humanitarian, cultural and linguistic space shared with Russia. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave located between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea where he is visiting. Tass reports it.
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Aiea in the plant until Saturday
The IAEA delegation will remain at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant until Saturday 3 September. This was announced by the pro-Russian military and civilian administration, according to reports from TASS.
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Moscow: "Stop oil for hostile countries if they impose a ceiling"
Moscow will suspend oil supplies to so-called "hostile countries" if they impose "restrictions" on the price of Russian oil. This was announced by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, according to reports from Tass.
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Kiev: "The counter-offensive in Kherson works"
The counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army in the direction of Kherson, in the south of the country, is continuing with "position battles against the Russian occupiers" and the "destruction of enemy supplies". This was stated by the head of the coordinating press center of the defense forces of southern Ukraine, Nataliya Humeniuk, quoted by UNIAN.
"We continue to destroy enemy supplies, we continue to monitor the transport routes along which they are trying to get more supplies. We continue to destroy their command posts and places of concentration of personnel and equipment", so as to "to reduce the forces and capabilities of the enemy," Humeniuk said.
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Ukrainian counter-offensive, Moscow: "They lost 2,000 men"
The Ukrainian army is continuing "unsuccessfully" its counter-offensive on the Mykolaiv-Kryvyj Rih axis in the direction of Kherson and has lost another 350 men in the last 24 hours, thus exceeding the total losses of two thousand since the attack began last Monday. . This was stated by the spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, quoted by Interfax.
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Kiev: "Moscow wants to stop the Aiea mission"
The chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, Andriy Yermak, accused Russia of wanting to "stop" the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia behaved like a "terrorist state" by bombing the territory of the power plant and Energodar, the city adjacent to the plant, writes Yermak on Twitter, adding: "Russia is responsible for everything that is happening at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. and to Energodar ".
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Moscow, Aiea mission passes checkpoint on contact line
The IAEA mission is crossing the checkpoint on the contact line and will leave for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: the pro-Russian authorities in Zaporizhzhia have announced this, according to Interfax.
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Aiea, "mission to Zaporizhzhia delayed by about three hours"
The mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea) to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was delayed by about three hours on the side of the front controlled by Ukraine: the spokesman for the UN agency told CNN. "Director General Grossi has personally negotiated with the Ukrainian military authorities to be able to proceed and remains determined to ensure that this important mission reaches the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant today," Fredrik Dahl told the US broadcaster.
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Seen, Lavrov: "We need a targeted response"
Russia should not replicate the EU restrictions on issuing visas to Russian citizens, but should give a targeted response to the authors of the sanctions: Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov said today, commenting on the decision of the European Union to suspend the visa facilitation agreement signed with Russia in 2007. This was reported by Interfax.
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Zaporizhzhia, the reactor shut down after the shots
The protection system of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia was triggered this morning following an artillery attack and deactivated the reactor number 5 of the plant: the announcement was made by the Ukrainian national company for the production of nuclear energy, Energoatom, cited UNIAN .
According to Energoatom the reactor was shut down automatically at 4:57 (3:57 in Italy) after another mortar attack by Russian forces. The head of the administration appointed by Moscow in Zaporizhzhia, Volodymyr Rogov, said instead that the reactor was shut down following Ukrainian artillery shells, reports Tass.
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Lukoil: Maganov "died of illness"
The chairman of the board of directors and deputy chairman of Lukoil, Ravil Maganov, died "after a serious illness". This is what the Russian oil group reports in a statement without providing further details on his death. Previously, Interfax and Reuters had reported, citing their sources, that Maganov died when he fell out of the window of a Moscow hospital.
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Moscow, President Lukoil dies falling out of a window
Ravil Maganov, president of the Russian oil company Lukoil, died after falling out of a window in the Central Hospital Clinic in Moscow. This was reported by a source to Interfax. "Maganov fell from the window of his hospital room this morning. He died of his injuries," he explained to the source, adding that the police are at work at the scene of the accident. Interfax specifies that at the moment it has no official confirmation of the news.
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Aiea in Zaporizhzhia, "Kiev shoots at the meeting point"
From the early hours of this morning the Ukrainian army fires with artillery against the meeting point set with the IAEA mission near the town of Vasylivka: the Russian defense ministry says this, reports Interfax. Vasylivka is located about 68 kilometers east of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where UN agency inspectors are headed for their mission.
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Zelensky: "Banning Russian state media"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked the EU to ban Russian state media. The Kyiv Independent reports, specifying that Zelensky made the statement in a video link during the Forum 2000 in Prague, an appointment established in 1996 in the capital of the Czech Republic to promote the values of democracy and respect for human rights.
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Aiea in Zaporizhzhia for "permanent mission"
The IAEA mission should arrive in these hours at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, where it wants to establish a "permanent presence". However, from the pro-Russian people who guard the area, the ok to the mission is currently only for 24 hours.
(Unioneonline)