It is the 192nd day of the war in Ukraine. Attacks by Kiev forces continue on Russian defensive lines along the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast. The Ukrainians’ objective appears to be to isolate the Russian units on the right bank of the Dnipro, and then intensify the ground attacks. Moscow forces continuing to attack cities behind the front line, such as Mykolaiv, to slow the offensive.
In the last few hours, several explosions have occurred in the city of Melitopol, located about 115 kilometers southeast of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in an area currently controlled by the Russians. In the meantime, reactor five of the Zaporizhzhia plant, whose activity had been suspended due to the entry into operation of the emergency systems triggered following bombing, has resumed operation. At the moment, IAEA experts are still inside the plant and there is a fear of their presence, limited and permanent, which would make it possible to avert, at least on paper, further potentially dangerous attacks near the site. IAEA director Grossi will report to the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
Gazprom, the Russian gas multinational controlled by Moscow, has blocked the flow of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, due to an oil leak that prevents it from restarting. For the spokesman of the European Commission Charles Michel it is “cynicism and false pretexts, a move that is not surprising”. For the minister of ecological transition Cingolani «the blackmail is clear to everyone. We need the regasifiers ». According to the president of the EU Commission, von der Leyen, it is necessary to “place a limit on supplies from Moscow”.
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00.01 – Exchange of prisoners in Donetsk: Kiev takes home 14 soldiers
Ukraine conducted a prisoner-of-war exchange in Donetsk Oblast, returning 14 Ukrainian soldiers to the territories controlled by Kiev. The newspaper reports it Ukrainska Pravda. The number of freed Russians is unknown.
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