Ukraine’s attacks on nuclear plant could be ‘catastrophic,’ Putin warns Macron

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Ukraine’s attacks on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant could lead to “catastrophic consequences.”

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. Russian forces seized the plant soon after Moscow launched its “special military operation” in the ex-Soviet country on February 24. Ukraine accuses Russia of storing heavy weapons in the plant. Moscow denies the allegation.

The plant has come under fire repeatedly in recent weeks, raising concerns of a potential Chernobyl-style nuclear incident after the site was hit by shelling.

Both Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of targeting the facility.

In a phone call with the French leader on Sunday, Putin “drew attention to regular Ukrainian attacks on (Zaporizhzhia nuclear) facilities, including a radioactive waste storage facility, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin said Russian specialists at the plant were working to ensure its safety. He said Moscow was ready to continue work with the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to agree on “non-politicized” solutions to problems at the facility, the statement said.

Despite the attacks, the Ukrainian staff continues to operate Zaporizhzhia.

Ukraine’s nuclear energy agency said earlier in the day that the final reactor at Zaporizhzhia was shut off as a safety measure.

IAEA calls for security zone around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for the establishment of a security and safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, citing extensive damage at the site amid fighting between Ukraine and Russia.

Russia has also taken control of the Chernobyl plant, about 100 kilometers north of Kiev, which has been one of the most radioactive locations on earth since it saw an explosion in its fourth reactor in April 1986.

Elsewhere in his remarks to Macron, Putin said Ukrainian forces are using Western-supplied weapons to target civilian infrastructure in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.

Russia began the war in Ukraine with a declared aim of “demilitarizing” Donbas, which is made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk self-proclaimed republics. Back in 2014, the two republics broke away from Ukraine, refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government there that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.

Since the onset of the conflict between the two countries, the United States and its European allies have unleashed an array of unprecedented sanctions against Russia and poured numerous batches of advanced weapons in Ukraine to help its military fend off the Russian troops, despite repeated warnings by the Kremlin that such measures will only prolong the war.

Defense Ministry: Russian troops hit Ukrainian army positions in Kharkiv

The Russian military says its troops have hit Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region.

Ukraine claims advance in wake of Russian withdrawal in Kharkiv

Separately on Sunday, Ukraine’s army chief, General Valery Zaluzhny, claimed his forces continued pushing northward in Kharkiv and advancing to its south and east. He claimed Ukraine’s armed forces had regained control of over 3,000 square kilometers since early September.

“Since the beginning of September, more than 3,000 square kilometers have been returned to Ukrainian control. Around Kharkiv, we have begun to advance not only to the south and east, but also to the north. There are 50 kilometers to go to the state border (with Russia),” Zaluzhny said.

However, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Russian forces were hitting Ukrainian army positions in Kharkiv with precision strikes delivered by airborne troops, missiles and artillery.

On Saturday, Kiev claimed rapid gains by Ukrainian forces made Russians abandon their main bastion – the city of Izium – in the area.

President Volodymir Zelensky of Ukraine, for his part, claimed on the same day that his country’s army had reclaimed about 2,000 kilometers of territory from Russian forces in Kharkiv, calling the so-called offensive as a potential breakthrough in his country’s conflict with Russia.

He also said the coming winter could bring more rapid gains of territory if Kiev could get more powerful weapons.

“I believe that this winter is a turning point, and it can lead to the rapid de-occupation of Ukraine,” Zelensky told a political forum. “We see how they (occupiers) are fleeing in some directions. If we were a little stronger with weapons, we would de-occupy faster.”

The Russian Defense Ministry has also announced it is withdrawing troops from two areas of the northeastern region. The ministry says its forces there are just going through a “redeployment” process.

Ukrainian officials have not confirmed they have recaptured Izium.

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