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The UN nuclear agency’s chief said Wednesday that the situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant “remains perilous” following a Russian missile strike this month that led to the plant’s disconnection from the electrical grid. Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
6:00am: Russia’s Medvedev says West won’t leave Russia, China alone
The West dislikes Russia and China‘s independence and the coming decades will not be quiet as it will try to break Russia up into smaller and weaker states, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.
In an interview with state news agency TASS, Medvedev said Ukraine was part of “Greater Russia”, and added that he saw no prospects for reviving Russia’s ties with the West in the near future.
3:55am: UN nuclear chief says Ukraine plant situation ‘remains perilous’
The UN nuclear agency’s chief said Wednesday that the situation at Ukraine‘s Zaporizhzhia power plant “remains perilous” following a Russian missile strike this month that disconnected the plant from the grid.
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant needs a reliable electricity supply to operate pumps that circulate water to cool reactors and pools holding nuclear fuel.
Since a Russian strike on March 9, the plant has relied on a single backup power line that remains “disconnected and under repair”, according to Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Nuclear safety at the ZNPP [Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant] remains in a precarious state,” Grossi said in a statement on Wednesday.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)