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Fire at Ukraine nuclear plant, largest in Europe, after Russia attack: 10 points
Ukraine war: After Russian troops took control of the port city of Kherson on Thursday, the first major Ukrainian city to fall in nine days of the onslaught, the battle is now raging for energy hub - Enerhodar.
Ukraine woke up to worrying developments on Friday, the Day 9 of Moscow onslaught, as fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the largest of its kind in Europe - after an attack by Russian troops. "Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone! (sic)," Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted in a desperate SOS. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been told by Kyiv that the “essential equipment” has not been affected by the fire.
Here are ten updates on Uklaine war:
1. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday called on Russia's Vladimir Putin to "sit down and talk with me", stressing that it was the only way "to stop the war" with the second round of ceasefire talks not yielding any major breakthrough. Zelenskyy, Kyiv's face of resistance, has also asked the West to give more military aid, warning that the Baltic states may be targeted next if his country falls. "If you do not have the power to close the skies, then give me planes! If we are no more then, God forbid, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia will be next," he said in a strong appeal.
2. After Russian troops took control of the port city of Kherson on Thursday, the first major Ukrainian city to fall in nine days of the onslaught, the battle is now raging for energy hub - Enerhodar -in Ukraine's south. Concerns have emerged over an accidental damage to 15 nuclear reactors amid the fighting outside the city that accounts for one-quarter of the country’s power generation, news agency Reuters reported.
3. With the fall of the Black Sea port, Kherson, Moscow is trying to cut off Ukraine from the sea. Fighting has also escalated in Mariupol, another strategic port city on the Azol Sea, news agency Reuters reported. Losing another port city could deal a double blow to Kyiv - a huge economic loss and the Kremlin could get an edge to build a land corridor to Crimea, annexed in 2014.
4. The second round of ceasefire talks was held on Thursday where both the sides agreed to create human corridors in the areas where fighting is the worst. This was the first apparent progress in the talks, which began earlier this week. The next round of talks will be held next week, Zelensky advisor was quoted as saying in reports.
5. Vladimir Putin on Thursday told French President Emmanuel Macron he was determined to press on with his attack "until the end" "I want to say that the special military operation is proceeding strictly in line with the timetable. According to plan. All the tasks that have been set are being successfully resolved," Putin said in a televised address, news agency Reuters reported.
6. Over a millon people have fled the Ukraine war in the first seven days, the United Nations has said, stressing that tens of millions of lives were at risk.
7. In a move that could give relief thousands of Ukrainians from being deported to war-torn country, the United States has halted the deportation for up to 18 months under the federal program known as Temporary Protected Status. In order to be eligible for the protection, individuals would have to have been in the U.S. since at least Tuesday, news agency AP reported.
8. Under Putin, Russia is facing increasing global isolation after his decision to attack Ukraine. Amid accounts of civilian casualties and destruction of property, Putin has decried what he called an “anti-Russian disinformation campaign” and insisted that Moscow uses “only precision weapons to exclusively destroy military infrastructure.”
9. “‘You are lying to yourself. It will cost your country dearly, your country will end up isolated, weakened and under sanctions for a very long time," France's Emmanuel Macron who spoke to Putin Thursday, said.
10 Russia has lost over thousands of troops in the onslaught, Kyiv has said, while the Kremlin claims a few hundreds have died. Ukraine has seen over 350 civilian deaths in one week. The West has slapped Russia with the worst sanction in decades. The United Nations General Assembly passed an unprecedented resolution urging Moscow to call back troops.
(With updates from AP, AFP, Reuters)
