More than a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow will commence a “military operation” in Ukraine, Russia attacked Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the southern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. On Friday, Russian troops seized the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe after a middle-of-the-night attack that set it on fire and briefly raised worldwide fears of a catastrophe in the most chilling turn in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine yet. Firefighters put out the blaze, and no radiation was released, UN and Ukrainian officials said, as Russian forces pressed on with their week-old offensive on multiple fronts and the number of refugees fleeing the country topped 1.2 million.
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Meanwhile, a member of Ukraine delegation that met with the Russians said both sides have agreed to establish corridors for civilians to safely leave combat zones, AP reported. The corridors will include ceasefires along the path, said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky.
Here are the top 10 updates on the Russia-Ukraine issue today:
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🔴 US President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the fire that broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant following Russian shelling, the White House said in a series of tweets. The White House wrote that Biden “joined President Zelenskyy in urging Russia to cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site.”
This image made from a video shows Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine on Oct. 20, 2015. (AP Photo)
🔴 A top American Senator has urged the Ukrainian government to end racial discrimination at its border, a prickly issue that has been pointed out by numerous students who have been frantically trying to flee the war-ravaged country, PTI reported. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensified, foreign students, especially Africans and Asians, who are attempting to flee the country have been complaining that they have been experiencing racist treatment by Ukrainian security forces at border check-posts.
🔴 An Indian student has reportedly been shot at and injured in Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Friday. Singh is in Poland currently to facilitate the evacuation of Indians. “Today, we heard reports that a student leaving Kyiv was shot at. He was taken back to Kyiv. This will happen in a fighting,” the minister told media persons. Meanwhile, Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that there are 16 flights scheduled for the next 24 hours, including an Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft. The MEA also said that the government’s highest attention is on the eastern Ukraine particularly Kharkiv and Pisochin.
🔴 The United States has imposed new sanctions on 50 Russian oligarchs, including Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskovt, and their families on Thursday. President Joe Biden said the sanctions will target those who “line their pockets with the Russian people’s money” as the Ukrainian people seek shelter from airstrikes. “Today, I’m announcing that we’re adding dozens of names to the list, including one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires. I’m banning travel to America by more than 50 Russian oligarchs, their families, and their close associates,” Biden said.
🔴 Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the neighbouring countries on Friday to not escalate tensions over the Ukrainian crisis. “There are no bad intentions towards our neighbours. And I would also advise them not to escalate the situation, not to introduce any restrictions. We fulfil all our obligations and will continue to fulfil them,” Putin said in televised remarks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flag-raising ceremony on the ferry Marshal Rokossovsky via a video link at his residence outside Moscow. (Reuters)
🔴 The US State Department has recalled a cable to American diplomats that instructed them to inform counterparts from India and the United Arab Emirate (UAE) that their position of neutrality on Ukraine put them “in Russia’s camp,” Axios, a US news outlet, reported on Thursday.
This image made from a video released by Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant shows bright flaring object landing in grounds of the nuclear plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine Friday, March 4, 2022. (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant via AP)
🔴 Underlining that it would be difficult for any country to continue buying military hardware from Russia after US sanctions in response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that in the “last few” weeks, “what we’ve seen from India…is the cancellation of MiG-29 orders, Russian helicopter orders and anti-tank weapon orders.”
🔴 International Atomic Energy Agency director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi on Friday said that there has been no release of radiation at the Ukrainian nuclear plant that was targeted. The atomic watchdog chief also said that the agency has been in contact with the Ukrainian nuclear regulator and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a building on the site was hit. That caused a fire that was extinguished.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). (Reuters)
Grossi said two people on the site were injured in the fire. He said that the operator and the regulator say the situation “continues to be extremely tense and challenging.” He said that only one reactor is operating at about 60%.
🔴 The United Nations said that 1 million people have fled Ukraine since the crisis in Ukraine started. This is more than 2 per cent of Ukraine’s population, though some of those fleeing Ukraine are citizens of other countries. The UN refugee agency has predicted up to 4 million people could eventually leave Ukraine, a country with a population of 44 million, AP reported.
🔴 The Biden administration offered humanitarian relief to Ukrainians in the United States on Thursday, which could protect thousands from being deported to their war-torn homeland. Ukrainians can remain in the country for up to 18 months under the federal programme known as Temporary Protected Status, PTI reported.
