Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Ukraine has launched a surprise counterattack in the north-east Kharkiv region, stretching Russian forces who are also facing Ukrainian attacks in the south. An official representing the Russian-controlled Donetsk People’s Republic said Ukrainian forces “encircled” Balakliia, an eastern town of 27,000 people situated between Kharkiv and Russian-occupied Izium.
Ukrainian forces are planning for a long and brutal campaign with the goal of taking back most of the Russian-occupied region of Kherson by the end of the year, according to reports. Ukraine’s goal of recapturing Kherson by the end of 2022 is ambitious but possible, US officials said.
Ukrainian troops could be in a position to seize the entire right bank of the Dnieper River, including Kherson city, by October, according to a former French general. Ukrainian forces have methodically prepared their counterattack in the southern Kherson region, launching offensives on “almost the entire southern frontline”, Gen Dominique Trinquand, former head of the French military mission to the UN, said.
Ukraine’s top military chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, has claimed responsibility for a series of strikes on Russian airbases in Crimea. The strikes used missiles or rockets and 10 warplanes were destroyed, he said. The attacks Zaluzhnyi took responsibility for reportedly included the devastating August strike on the Saki military facility.
Russia has reportedly resumed shelling near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, a day after the UN called for a demilitarised zone around the plant. A local official said the city of Nikopol – on the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from Zaporizhzhia – was fired on with rockets and heavy artillery. The report has not been independently verified.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, has urged residents of Russian-occupied areas around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to evacuate for their own safety. The town of Enerhodar, which serves the nuclear plant, has come under fire from Russian forces and lost electricity, according to its exiled Ukrainian mayor.
Ukraine’s nuclear chief has said he would support the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP). Remarks by Petro Kotyn, the head of Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom, came a day after the UN secretary general, António Guterres, called for a demilitarised zone around the nuclear plant, involving the withdrawal of Russian occupying troops and the agreement of Ukrainian forces not to move in.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned we are facing “a very grave danger” as shelling continues at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. In his first television interview since leading an expert mission to the Russian-held plant, Rafael Grossi said what was “urgently needed” was to establish a protection or shield around the perimeter of the facility.
The head of the EU executive has set out plans for windfall taxes, mandatory electricity savings and a cap on the price of Russian gas to limit Kremlin revenues used to finance the “atrocious” war in Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen outlined a five-point plan in response to an energy price crisis, driven by the Russian shutdown of the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline but exacerbated by the climate crisis and lingering effects of the Covid pandemic.
Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut off energy supplies if price caps are imposed on Russia’s oil and gas exports. Russia would walk away from its supply contracts if the west went ahead with its plans, Putin said, warning that Russia would “sentence the wolf’s tail to be frozen”.
The leader of Russia’s governing party has proposed that a referendum should be held in occupied regions of Ukraine on 4 November on whether to become part of Russia. Andrei Turchak, head of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, said it would be “correct and symbolic” to hold votes on that date, a Russian public holiday which is celebrated as the Day of National Unity.
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan next week, according to a Russian official. The pair plan to meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on 15-16 September, Russia’s ambassador to China Andrei Denisov told reporters. It would the first face-to-face between the two leaders since Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine in February.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have reached an agreement in principle to restrict the entry of Russian citizens travelling from Russia and Belarus, the Latvian foreign minister said. Edgars Rinkēvičs said the increase of border crossings by Russian citizens was “a public security issue […] also an issue of a moral and political nature”.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. Thank you for reading.
Updated
James Cleverly has reaffirmed the UK’s “steadfast support” for Ukraine in his first call as foreign secretary.
The Foreign Office said he spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday.
In a statement shared on social media, Cleverly said:
I just spoke to Dmytro Kuleba in my first call as foreign secretary.
I reaffirmed the UK’s steadfast support for Ukraine as they resist Putin’s barbaric invasion.
What happens in Ukraine matters to us all and I will do everything possible to assist their fight for freedom.
The leader of Russia’s governing party has proposed that a referendum should be held in occupied regions of Ukraine on 4 November on whether to become part of Russia.
Andrei Turchak, head of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, said it would be “correct and symbolic” to hold votes on that date, a Russian public holiday which is celebrated as the Day of National Unity.
Andrey Turchak, head of Putin’s ruling United Russia party, proposed to hold "referenda" on joining Russia in the Donbas and the "liberated territories" on 4 November, when Russia marks its Unity Day
— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) September 7, 2022
Pro-Russian officials in occupied parts of Ukraine had previously suggested that a referendum on joining Russia would be held on 11 September.
But on Monday, Russia-appointed officials in the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine said they are “pausing” a planned referendum because of attacks by Ukrainian forces.
Writing on his party’s website today, Turchak said that in any case, voting would “definitely” take place this year.
Ukraine ‘could seize Kherson by October’, says former French general
Ukrainian troops could be in a position to seize the entire right bank of the Dnieper River, including Kherson city, by October, according to a former French general.
Ukrainian forces have methodically prepared their counterattack in the southern Kherson region, launching offensives on “almost the entire southern frontline”, Gen Dominique Trinquand, former head of the French military mission to the UN, said in an interview with France 24.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive appears to be “progressing well”, he said, adding:
The Russians seem surprised by the methods used. The destruction of ammunition depots and logistical hubs, particularly the railroads, have considerably destabilised them. Today, if the forces stationed west of the Dnieper River no longer receive shells, they will no longer be able to defend themselves. If they no longer receive food, it will be dramatic for some units.
He also said:
I think that before the winter, the Ukrainians could take over the whole right bank of the Dnieper, including the city of Kherson.
If Ukraine succeeded in retaking this region, it would be a “major coup” and would be “very damaging” for Vladimir Putin, he added.
Russian natural gas deliveries to the EU have dropped by 48% so far this year, according to the Russian gas giant Gazprom.
Russia is in talks about a major infrastructure project to deliver gas to China via Mongolia, Vladimir Putin said earlier today.
Gazprom has for years explored the possibility of supplying gas to China via Mongolia through a gas pipeline, the Power of Siberia 2.
The proposed pipeline could carry 50bn cubic metres of natural gas a year, Gazprom has said, which is slightly less than the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that links Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
In a televised meeting with Mongolia’s prime minister, Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene, Putin said:
We are in discussions about the possible implementation of a major infrastructure project, I mean the supply of Russian gas to China via Mongolia.
Updated
The Kyiv Independent’s defence reporter, Illia Ponomarenko, has said “something incredible” is happening in the north-east Kharkiv region.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region is reportedly seeing some success. On Tuesday, a Moscow-appointed official in the Russian-controlled Donetsk People’s Republic said Ukrainian forces had “encircled” Balakliia, an eastern town of 27,000 people situated between Kharkiv and Russian-occupied Izium.
Something incredible is happening in Kharkiv Oblast.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) September 7, 2022
Yeah, we somewhat underestimated the Ukrainian military’s offensive capability and reserves in that sector.
The Wall Street Journal’s Yaroslav Trofimov reports that the speed of Ukraine’s advance has left many stunned.
Lots of videos of Russian POWs (including a lieutenant-colonel) and abandoned Russian positions coming from the Balakliya-Izyum front as Russian military bloggers and analysts remain in doomsday mode. The speed of the Ukrainian advance seems to have stunned everyone.
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) September 7, 2022
Updated
Ukraine ‘aims to recapture Kherson by end of year’ – report
Ukrainian forces are planning for a long and brutal campaign with the goal of taking back most of the Russian-occupied region of Kherson by the end of the year, CNN reports.
Since launching its counteroffensive last week, Ukrainian forces have made gains in the south with ambitious ground assaults after sustained attacks on command posts, ammunition stores, and fuel reserves far behind the frontlines, according to geolocation of video and satellite imagery.
The US has seen Ukraine achieve some success in attacking Russian supply lines, with the intention of cutting off and isolating Russian troops currently deployed west of the Dnipro River, according to a senior US official.
According to Ukrainian officials, the goal is to take at least all territory north or west of the Dnipro River, including not only the city of Kherson but also Nova Kakhovka. Nova Kakhovka houses an important hydroelectric plant as well as a canal that supplies Crimea with much of its water.
At the same time, Ukraine has stepped up attacks in the east of the country in order to prevent Russia from shifting forces to the south to attempt to repel the Ukrainian counteroffensive there, according to US officials.
Ukraine’s goal of recapturing Kherson by the end of 2022 is ambitious but possible, US officials said.
Updated
Vladimir Putin has said he wants to revise a fragile international agreement to allow the export of Ukrainian grain in a move that could threaten the deal and revive fears of a renewed Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea.
During a bellicose speech at an economic conference in Vladivostok, Putin said he would speak with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, about “limiting the destinations for grain exports”, issuing a false claim that only two of 87 ships leaving Ukraine with grain had gone to developing countries.
The divisive statements came during a speech in which Putin also threatened to cut off all deliveries of gas, oil, and coal to Europe if they imposed a price cap on Russian energy imports. Recalling a Russian fairytale, he said that Europeans could “freeze like the wolf’s tail”.
The speech, nominally dedicated to the economy and trade, was one of the Russian leader’s most belligerent and defiant since the beginning of the Ukraine war. At one point, Putin declared that Russia had “lost nothing” in launching a war that has killed tens of thousands of people, including thousands of its own soldiers.
“We haven’t lost anything and we won’t lose anything,” said Putin, when asked about the cost of the invasion, which began more than six months ago. “The main gain is the strengthening of our sovereignty.
Residents urged to evacuate from Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant town
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, has urged residents of Russian-occupied areas around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to evacuate for their own safety.
In a post on Telegram, Vereshchuk said:
I appeal to the residents of the districts adjacent to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant … evacuate! Find a way to get to (Ukrainian) controlled territory.
The town of Enerhodar, which serves the nuclear plant, has come under fire from Russian forces and lost electricity, according to its exiled Ukrainian mayor.
Updated
Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz has spoken with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to pledge his country’s continued support for Kyiv, a German government spokesperson said.
The pair discussed further ways to help Ukraine, including measures to assist in the country’s reconstruction, the spokesperson said.
During the call, Scholz outlined intense preparations for an international conference on this matter, to be held in Berlin on 25 October, they added.
Scholz and Zelenskiy also agreed that protecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was of great importance, and backed measures recommended in yesterday’s IAEA report which called for a protection zone around the site.
Britain’s newly appointed foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has spoken with Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, to discuss working together to persuade other countries to support Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, Kuleba said.
Kuleba tweeted that he and Cleverly “see eye to eye on the main goal: Ukraine must win”.
He added:
We will work actively together to persuade others across the globe to support it, especially those who may still have doubts.
The Ukrainian foreign minister said he was Cleverly’s first call following his appointment by Liz Truss as her foreign minister on Tuesday.
Kuleba said:
The fact that our call was foreign secretary’s first speaks for itself.
Spoke with @JamesCleverly. We see eye to eye on the main goal: Ukraine must win. We will work actively together to persuade others across the globe to support it, especially those who may still have doubts. The fact that our call was Foreign Secretary’s first speaks for itself.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) September 7, 2022
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Ukraine has launched a surprise counterattack in the north-east Kharkiv region, stretching Russian forces who are also facing Ukrainian attacks in the south. An official representing the Russian-controlled Donetsk People’s Republic said Ukrainian forces “encircled” Balakliia, an eastern town of 27,000 people situated between Kharkiv and Russian-occupied Izium.
Ukraine has claimed to have destroyed a key strategic bridge used by Russian forces in Kherson. Ukraine’s armed forces shared a series of satellite images purporting to show the damaged structure on Tuesday night. The military added that the images show “significant damage to the Daryiv bridge itself” as well as damage to a building near the river.
A “parallel” Ukrainian counteroffensive is occurring in eastern and north-eastern Ukraine as well as in the south, a senior presidential adviser has claimed. Writing on Telegram, Oleksiy Arestovych said in the coming months, Ukraine could expect the defeat of Russian troops in the Kherson region on the western bank of the Dnieper and a significant Ukraine advance in the east.
Ukraine’s top military chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, has claimed responsibility for a series of strikes on Russian airbases in Crimea. The strikes used missiles or rockets and 10 warplanes were destroyed, he said. The attacks Zaluzhnyi took responsibility for reportedly included the devastating August strike on the Saki military facility.
Russia has reportedly resumed shelling near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, a day after the UN called for a demilitarised zone around the plant. A local official said the city of Nikopol – on the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from Zaporizhzhia – was fired on with rockets and heavy artillery. The report has not been independently verified.
Ukraine is considering shutting down its Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for safety reasons, according to Kyiv’s top nuclear safety expert. Oleh Korikov also expressed concerns about the reserves of diesel fuel used for backup generators.
Ukraine’s nuclear chief has said he would support the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP). Remarks by Petro Kotyn, the head of Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom, came a day after the UN secretary general, António Guterres, called for a demilitarised zone around the nuclear plant, involving the withdrawal of Russian occupying troops and the agreement of Ukrainian forces not to move in.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned we are facing “a very grave danger” as shelling continues at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. In his first television interview since leading an expert mission to the Russian-held plant, Rafael Grossi said what was “urgently needed” was to establish a protection around the perimeter of the facility.
The head of the EU executive has set out plans for windfall taxes, mandatory electricity savings and a cap on the price of Russian gas to limit Kremlin revenues used to finance the “atrocious” war in Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen outlined a five-point plan in response to an energy price crisis, driven by the Russian shutdown of the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline but exacerbated by the climate crisis and lingering effects of the Covid pandemic.
Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut off energy supplies if price caps are imposed on Russia’s oil and gas exports. Russia would walk away from its supply contracts if the west went ahead with its plans, Putin said, warning that Russia would “sentence the wolf’s tail to be frozen”.
Germany is well placed to “survive” the winter despite turmoil in the energy markets, its chancellor Olaf Scholz has said. Scholz vowed that Germany will keep moving “at great speed” to shed its reliance on Russia for power, adding that gas reserves were at over 86% capacity and would be used to heat homes, generate electricity and power industry.
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan next week, according to a Russian official. The pair plan to meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on 15-16 September, Russia’s ambassador to China Andrei Denisov told reporters. It would the first face-to-face between the two leaders since Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine in February.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have reached an agreement in principle to restrict the entry of Russian citizens travelling from Russia and Belarus, the Latvian foreign minister said. Edgars Rinkēvičs said the increase of border crossings by Russian citizens was “a public security issue […] also an issue of a moral and political nature”.
Hello everyone, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong still with you today with all the latest from Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Ukraine launches surprise counterattack in Kharkiv region
Ukraine has launched a surprise counterattack in the north-east Kharkiv region, stretching Russian forces who are also facing Ukrainian attacks in the south.
An official representing the Russian-controlled Donetsk People’s Republic said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces “encircled” Balakliia, an eastern town of 27,000 people situated between Kharkiv and Russian-occupied Izium.
“Today, the Ukrainian armed forces, after prolonged artillery preparation … began an attack on Balakliia,” Daniil Bezsonov said on Telegram.
“At this time, Balakliia is in operative encirclement and within the firing range of Ukrainian artillery. All approaches are cut off by fire,” he said, adding that a successful Ukrainian offensive would threaten Russian forces in Izium, a strategically important town that Russia has been using for its own offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Unverified footage circulating on social media on Wednesday showed what looked like a Ukrainian soldier posing in front of the entrance sign for Balakliia.
Analysts have said that the initial target of the offensive could be the city of Kupyansk, a key road hub for Russian supplies heading south from the border into eastern Ukraine.
Read the full story by my colleagues Pjotr Sauer and Isobel Koshiw.
Russia resumes shelling near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, says governor
Russia has reportedly resumed shelling near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, a day after the UN called for a demilitarised zone around the plant.
A local official told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the city of Nikopol – on the opposite bank if the Dnieper river from Zaporizhzhia – was fired on with rockets and heavy artillery. The report has not been independently verified.
Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said:
There are fires, blackouts and other things at the [plant] that force us to prepare the local population for the consequences of the nuclear danger.
In recent days, residents have been given iodine pills to help protect them from a radiation leak.
The head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, warned the UN Security Council on Tuesday that “something very, very catastrophic could take place” at Zaporizhzhia. The IAEA urged Russia and Ukraine to establish a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the plant.
It is feared that fighting could lead to a disaster on the scale of Chernobyl.
The resumption of grain exports from Ukraine and maintaining food and fertiliser supplies contributed to a drop in global wheat prices in August, the UN has said.
It came after Vladimir Putin called for talks to change the UN-brokered deal, signed in July to avoid a global food crisis, claiming exports were not going to the world’s poorest countries as planned.
A UN spokesperson for the Black Sea Grain Initiative told Reuters:
In August, the Food and Agriculture Organisation cereal price index decreased by 1.4% from the previous month. This drop...was due in part to the resumption of commercial exports from the Black Sea ports in Ukraine.
According to UN data, Turkey, which is not part of the EU, has been the most common single destination for Ukraine shipments and that they have also been sent to China, India, Egypt, Yemen, Somalia and Djibouti.
The spokesperson added:
As of today...we have seen 100 ships leaving Ukrainian ports carrying over 2,334,310 metric tons of grains and other foodstuffs across three continents, including 30 percent to low and lower-middle income countries.
Ukraine military claims responsibility for series of strikes in Crimea, including Saki
Ukraine’s top military chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, has claimed responsibility for a series of strikes on Russian airbases in Crimea.
In an article published by Ukrinform, a state news agency, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army said the strikes used missiles or rockets and that 10 warplanes were destroyed. The attacks he took responsibility for included the devastating August strike on the Saki military facility, reports Reuters.
Updated
EU executive lays out five-point plan in response to energy crisis
The head of the EU executive has set out plans for windfall taxes, mandatory electricity savings and a cap on the price of Russian gas to limit Kremlin revenues used to finance the “atrocious” war in Ukraine.
Ursula von der Leyen outlined a five-point plan in response to an energy price crisis, driven by the Russian shutdown of the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline but exacerbated by the climate crisis and lingering effects of the Covid pandemic.
Low-carbon energy companies, renewable and nuclear suppliers that have reaped “enormous revenues … they never dreamed of” from generating electricity will face a windfall tax, Von der Leyen said, with proceeds earmarked to help domestic consumers and companies pay “astronomical” bills.
Under EU energy rules, the price of electricity is determined by the cost of the most expensive fuel, usually gas, rather than cheaper renewables and nuclear power. As a result of all-time-high gas prices, low-carbon electricity generators have been rewarded with a big increase in income.
“These revenues do not reflect their production costs,” Von der Leyen said. “So it is now time for the consumers to benefit from the low costs of low-carbon sources.” The commission, she said, proposed “to re-channel these unexpected profits” to allow member states to support vulnerable households and companies.
Updated
Ukraine’s nuclear chief has said he would support the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP).
Petro Kotyn, the head of Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom, said in remarks broadcast by Ukrainian TV:
One of the ways to create a security zone at the ZNPP could be to set up a peacekeeping contingent there and withdraw Russian troops.
Kotyn’s remarks came a day after the UN secretary general, António Guterres, called for a demilitarised zone around the nuclear plant, involving the withdrawal of Russian occupying troops and the agreement of Ukrainian forces not to move in.
Former UK defence secretary Michael Fallon clashed with the French president Emmanuel Macron saying he did not understand those who say that Russian president Vladimir Putin should not be left humiliated at the end of the Ukraine war.
Macron has at times called for Putin not to win, but also not to be humiliated. But Fallon, speaking at an economic forum in Poland, said:
I do not understand people that say that Putin must not be humiliated by failure. He needs to fail and to be humiliated if we are not to concede he has any kind of legitimate right to be any part of Ukraine. If we weaken now by allowing Russia to continue along this path it seems the Baltic States, Moldova, Georgia, the West Balkans - all of them - will be vulnerable in the future.
Fallon was defence secretary from 2014 and 2017 in the wake of the Russian-led incursion into Ukraine, and in his remarks described the West’s response at the time as feeble.
He also called for the West to consider providing Ukraine with a modern air defence iron dome as a permanent form of security against future Russian attacks, possibly with a Polish contribution.
Describing the state of the military counter-offensive inside Ukraine as “at a delicate stage”, he said the level of sanctions against Russia should not only be stepped up, but enforced since some countries were allowing Russian oil to be retankered and relabelled in international customs.
He added:
Politicians need to better and more fully explain the sacrifice that is going to be required not just in the field of energy but in terms of fiscal transfers. This is a war not just of territory but of principle.
Fallon also called for the Russian middle class to be banned from travelling across Europe:
Young Russians can enjoy the beaches of the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea whereas every young Ukrainians has in one way or another to defend their country. Even in an autocratic regime where the media is controlled, you cannot exempt the Russian population from proper responsibility for what is being done in their name.
He also revealed his deep exasperation with Europe’s response to Russia's actions in Ukraine. He said Putin noticed the west’s weak response to the Maidan in 2004, when the European Union proved itself wholly unable to defend a fragile democracy.
Putin noticed again when Europe applied only limited sanctions after the seizure of Crimea, excluding oil and gas, and unbelievably allowing 10 European countries to honour their existing arms contracts to Russia supplying weapons that even today are being used against Ukraine.
Above all, Putin noted the lack of a clear path for Nato and EU membership, Fallon said.
He said Poland by contrast recognised what Putin represented long before the rest of Europe, and called on the UK to build its ad hoc defence links with Poland and Ukraine in the future.
Updated
Putin to hold ‘serious’ meeting with China’s Xi Jinping next week, says official
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan next week, according to a Russian official.
The pair plan to meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on 15-16 September, Russia’s ambassador to China Andrei Denisov told reporters.
Denisov was quoted by Russian state-run news agency Tass as saying:
We are actively preparing for it.
It would the first face-to-face between the two leaders since Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine in February.
It would also be the Chinese leader’s first overseas trip since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Xi has only left mainland China once since the start of the pandemic, to make a one-day visit to Hong Kong.
The summit “promises to be interesting”, Denisov was also cited as saying. He added:
I do not want to say that online summits are not full-fledged, but still, direct communication between leaders is a different quality of discussion … We are planning a serious, full-fledged meeting of our leaders with a detailed agenda, which we are now, in fact, working on with our Chinese partners.
When asked about the trip, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said he had “nothing to offer” and did not provide any information.
Updated
Germany is well placed to “survive” the winter despite turmoil in the energy markets, its chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.
Scholz vowed that Germany will keep moving “at great speed” to shed its reliance on Russia for power, in a speech to parliament that was heavily critical of his predecessor chancellor Angela Merkel’s energy policies.
Germany has worked effectively to fill up its gas storage tanks and by speeding up the building of terminals to receive liquefied natural gas, Scholz said. The gas reserves, currently over 86% capacity, will be used to heat homes, generate electricity and power industry.
He added:
Because we started so early, when it wasn’t even such a big awareness of the problem in Germany, we are now in a situation that we can head into the winter courageously and bravely - our country can survive.
He said he was working to seal new cooperation with close European partners in order to “guarantee a secure energy supply” for the country.
We have spoken with our friends on the west European coast, with the Netherlands and Belgium for them to expand (LNG) terminals and pipeline capacities with France which will for the first time deliver gas to us.
Updated
Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut off energy supplies if price caps are imposed on Russia’s oil and gas exports.
Speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok in Russia’s far east, the president said Russia “will not supply anything at all if it contradicts our interests … We will not supply gas, oil, coal, heating oil – we will not supply anything.”
Updated
A Ukrainian presidential adviser has described Russian complaints about a landmark deal allowing Ukraine to export grain from ports in the Black Sea as “flabbergasting”.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told Reuters:
The agreements signed in Istanbul … concern only one issue, and that is the transfer of cargo ships through the Black Sea.
He added:
Russia can’t dictate where Ukraine should send its grain, and Ukraine doesn’t dictate the same to Russia.
Updated
Russia’s foreign ministry has announced sanctions against a number of European military leaders and security figures in response to what Moscow described as the west’s “unfriendly anti-Russian” policy.
In a statement, it said it was banning a number of the European military leaders, senior security figures and representatives of weapons companies from entering Russia.
The ministry did not name the individuals.
Putin threatens to ‘freeze’ west by cutting gas and oil supplies if price caps imposed
Speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok, Vladimir Putin threatened to cut off energy supplies if price caps are imposed on Russia’s oil and gas exports.
The Russian leader described European calls for a price cap on Russian gas as “stupid” and said they would lead to higher global prices and economic problems in Europe.
Last week, G7 countries agreed on a plan to put a ceiling on Russian oil prices in an attempt to stem the flow of funds into the Kremlin’s war coffers.
Russia would walk away from its supply contracts if the west went ahead with its plans, Putin said.
The Russian president said:
Will there be any political decisions that contradict the contracts? Yes, we won’t fulfill them. We will not supply anything at all if it contradicts our interests.
He added:
We will not supply gas, oil, coal, heating oil – we will not supply anything.
Russia “would only have one thing left to do”, Putin said.
As in the famous Russian fairytale, we would sentence the wolf’s tail to be frozen.
He said Germany and western countries themselves were to blame for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline not being operational and that Ukraine and Poland decided on their own to switch off other gas routes into Europe.
He added:
Nord Steam 1 is practically closed now.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
Hello everyone. I’m Léonie Chao-Fong, taking over the blog from Tobi Thomas to bring you all the latest developments from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
Here’s a quick roundup of what’s been happening so far:
Ukraine is considering shutting down its Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for safety reasons, according to Kyiv’s top nuclear safety expert. Oleh Korikov also expressed concerns about the reserves of diesel fuel used for backup generators. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of threatening Europe’s nuclear security by shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and claimed Russia had no military equipment at the facility.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned we are facing “a very grave danger” as shelling continues at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. In his first television interview since leading an expert mission to the Russian-held plant, Rafael Grossi said what was “urgently needed” was to establish a protection around the perimeter of the facility.
The UN nuclear watchdog has said its experts found extensive damage at Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in a report presented to the UN security council on Tuesday. The report also found Ukrainian staff were operating under constant high stress and pressure where there was an increased possibility of human error. “We are playing with fire and something very, very catastrophic could take place,” IAEA chief Grossi warned.
The UN has called for a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. UN secretary general, António Guterres, urged the withdrawal of Russian occupying troops and the agreement of Ukrainian forces not to move in, and said he supported the recommendations put forward by the IAEA’s Grossi.
Ukrainian forces have attacked the Russian-occupied eastern town of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region, a senior Russian-appointed official has said. Bezsonov added that if the town were lost, Russian forces in Izyum would become vulnerable on their north-west flank. Luhansk region governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television that a “counter-attack is under way and … our forces are enjoying some success. Let’s leave it at that.”
Ukraine has claimed to have destroyed a key strategic bridge used by Russian forces in Kherson. Ukraine’s armed forces shared a series of satellite images purporting to show the damaged structure on Tuesday night. The military added that the images show “significant damage to the Daryiv bridge itself” as well as damage to a building near the river.
A “parallel” Ukrainian counteroffensive is occurring in eastern and north-eastern Ukraine as well as in the south, a senior presidential adviser has claimed. Writing on Telegram, Oleksiy Arestovych said in the coming months, Ukraine could expect the defeat of Russian troops in the Kherson region on the western bank of the Dnieper and a significant Ukraine advance in the east.
Vladimir Putin has said western sanctions on Russia were short-sighted and a danger for the entire world, which he said was increasingly turning towards Asia. In a speech to the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, he also claimed the developing world had been “cheated” by a landmark grain deal designed to alleviate a food crisis.
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Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss and her US counterpart Joe Biden have promised to strengthen their relationship in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression. Truss’s call to Biden on Tuesday night followed a conversation with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and focused on what she called ”extreme economic problems caused by Putin’s war”.
Putin said the way Britain chooses its leaders is “far from democratic”, a day after Liz Truss replaced Boris Johnson as prime minister. In his first public comments on Truss’s appointment, the Russian president alluded to the fact she was chosen in a leadership ballot by members of the Conservative party, not by the whole country.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have reached an agreement in principle to restrict the entry of Russian citizens travelling from Russia and Belarus, the Latvian foreign minister said. Edgars Rinkēvičs said the increase of border crossings by Russian citizens was “a public security issue […] also an issue of a moral and political nature”.
A Russian colonel who served as the military commandant of the occupied Ukrainian city of Berdiansk was reported to have been killed in a car bombing, according to Russian state media reports. Russian officials have alleged that Ukraine was behind the attack on Col Artyom Bardin. If true, it would be the most significant assassination yet of an official working for the occupational government of Russia in Ukraine.
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Putin has also said that Ukraine had threatened Europe’s nuclear security by shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and that Russia had no military equipment at the facility.
Reuters reports:
The Russian president added that he trusted a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which visited the power station last week, but criticised the IAEA for not saying that Ukraine was to blame for shelling on the site.
Kyiv and Moscow both blame each other for military attacks on the site which has triggered fears of a Chornobyl-style nuclear disaster at Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
Ukraine considers shutting down Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Ukraine is considering shutting down its Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for safety reasons, and is worried about the reserves of diesel fuel used for backup generators, according to Kyiv’s top nuclear safety expert.
“The option of switching off the station is being assessed,” Oleh Korikov said during a news briefing on Wednesday.
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Vladimir Putin has said the way Britain chooses its leaders is 'far from democratic'
Vladimir Putin has said the way Britain chooses its leaders is “far from democratic”, a day after Liz Truss replaced Boris Johnson as prime minister.
In his first public comments on Truss’s appointment, the Russian president alluded to the fact she was chosen in a leadership ballot by members of the Conservative party, and not by the whole country.
“The people of Great Britain don’t take part, in this instance, in the change of government. The ruling elites there have their arrangements,” Putin told an economic forum in Vladivostok.
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Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia had not lost anything in a global confrontation with the US over the conflict in Ukraine but had actually gained by setting a new sovereign course that would restore its global clout, the Russian president said on Wednesday during a speech to the Eastern Economic Forum.
Reuters reports:
Putin increasingly casts the conflict in Ukraine, which he calls a “special military operation”, as a turning point in history when Russia finally threw off the humiliations which accompanied the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.
In an attempt to underscore Russia’s tilt towards Asia, Putin, speaking to the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok, said that the West was failing while Asia was the future.
In his main speech, Putin hardly mentioned Ukraine beyond a reference to grain exports. But when asked by a moderator if anything had been lost from the conflict, Putin said Russia had gained and would emerge renewed and purged of hindrances.
“We have not lost anything and will not lose anything,” Putin, Russia’s paramount leader since 1999, said. “Everything that is unnecessary, harmful and everything that prevents us from moving forward will be rejected.”
“In terms of what we have gained, I can say that the main gain has been the strengthening of our sovereignty, and this is the inevitable result of what is happening now,” Putin said. “This will ultimately strengthen our country from within.”
He did, though, acknowledge that the conflict had unleashed “a certain polarisation” in both the world and in Russia.
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In his first television interview since leading an expert mission to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi tells CNN’s Christiane Amanpour we are facing “a very grave danger” as shelling continues at the plant.
“The situation continues to be very worrying,” Grossi said. “The shelling continues, so we are still facing a very grave danger. The mere fact there is continuity of attacks and shelling, deliberate or not, wittingly or unwittingly, people are hitting a nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. So I must say that the danger continues.”
He continued, underlining the huge dangers posed: “I demand nuclear safety is indispensable. Nuclear security is indispensable. We are playing with fire.”
When asked about the IAEA establishing a demilitarised zone around the nuclear plant, Grossi said there must be a differentiation between a demilitarised zone versus creating a “nuclear safety and security zone”.
“What we are talking about here is the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone immediately, which is perhaps more modest than a full demilitarisation of the area, but extremely effective in getting commitment from all sides to avoid any aiming at the plant, any shelling at the plant, any use of any means and calibers of artillery in a direction of the plant.”
Grossi continued: “What is urgently needed now – today – is that we agree on establishing a protection, a shield, a bubble around the perimeter of the facility. This is not something which is impossible to do – not at all. The IAEA has the mandate to protect the safety and security of the plant and the people there. I hope to consult very quickly and establish this as an interim measure in the hope that there will be further things.”
When asked whether the remaining IAEA inspectors would stay at the nuclear plant as part of a permanent mission, Grossi confirmed the IAEA would remain on site.
“And if somebody wants us to leave, then let that someone explain why is the IAEA forced to leave.”
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The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have reached agreement in principle to restrict the entry of Russian citizens travelling from Russia and Belarus, the Latvian foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs has said.
Reuters reports:
“In the last couple of weeks and months the border crossing by Russian citizens holding Schengen visas have dramatically increased.
This is becoming a public security issue, this is also an issue of a moral and political nature,” he told a press conference in Lithuania.
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Putin claims developing world 'cheated' by landmark grain deal
Vladimir Putin, during the same speech, also claimed that the developing world had been “cheated” by a landmark grain deal designed to alleviate a food crisis.
Putin took aim at the deal, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, saying Ukrainian grain exports were not going to the world’s poorest countries.
He said:
Once again, they simply deceived developing countries and continue to deceive them. With this approach, the scale of food (supply) issues in the world will only increase, unfortunately. To our great regret, this can lead to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”
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Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has said the west’s sanctions on the country were short-sighted and a danger for the entire world, which he said was increasingly turning towards Asia.
In a speech to the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin said the west had undermined the global economy with an “aggressive” attempt to impose its dominance across the world.
He added that Russia had done everything it could to ensure Ukraine was able to export grain, but that problems in the global food market were likely to intensify and that a humanitarian catastrophe was looming.
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Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss and her US counterpart Joe Biden have promised to strengthen their relationship in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
Truss’s call to Biden on Tuesday night followed a conversation with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and focused on what she called ”extreme economic problems caused by Putin’s war”.
Biden and Truss “reinforced their commitment to strengthening global liberty, tackling the risks posed by autocracies and ensuring Putin fails in Ukraine”, according to Downing Street.
No 10 noted the “enduring strength of the special relationship” with the US, something that appeared at times strained during the reign of her predecessor, Boris Johnson.
The leaders also committed to deepening alliances through Nato and the Aukus defence pact, established to counter China’s dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.
I became the 1st foreign leader to have a conversation with the newly elected 🇬🇧 PM @trussliz. Invited her to 🇺🇦. Thanked 🇬🇧 people for the major defense & economic aid for 🇺🇦. It's important that 🇬🇧 is ready to further strengthen it. Attention was paid to security guarantees 1/2
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 6, 2022
The White House said the leaders discussed close cooperation to help Ukraine “defend itself against Russian aggression”, as well as the challenges posed by China, Iran’s ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons, securing sustainable and affordable energy and the need to protect the Good Friday agreement.
Truss’s first call to a foreign leader was to Zelenskiy. The prime minister, who is the UK’s fourth Conservative prime minister in six years, told him “Ukraine could depend on the UK’s assistance for the long term” and deplored Putin’s attempts to weaponise energy. Accepting an invitation to visit Ukraine soon, the new prime minister said it was “vital Russia’s blackmail did not deter the west from ensuring Putin fails”, according to Downing Street.
Honoured to be the object of Truss’s first call, Zelenskiy hailed what he said would be a “profound and productive relationship” with the new leader, with whom he discussed how to increase the pressure on Russia and raise the costs of its invasion.
“It is very important that Great Britain retains a leadership role in consolidating the free world and protecting freedom,” he said.
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Russian colonel killed in car bomb attack - reports
A Russian colonel who served as the military commandant of the occupied Ukrainian city of Berdiansk was reported to have been killed in a car bombing, according to Russian state media reports.
The car bomb reportedly exploded near the city administrative headquarters, which is being used as a Russian base.
Photographs showed that the car used by the Russian military official, who has been identified as Col Artyom Bardin, was severely damaged in the attack, which took place close to midday.
Initial reports indicated that Bardin died from his wounds. But Vladimir Rogov, the Russian-appointed administrative head of the Zaporizhzhia region, said in a Telegram post written just after 8.30pm on Tuesday that the colonel continued to “fight for his life”.
Thank God, information about the death of the commandant of Berdyansk Artyom Bardin is not confirmed. Despite severe injuries, explosive leg amputation and massive blood loss, he is alive. Doctors continue to fight for his life,” he said.
Russian officials have alleged that Ukraine was behind the attack. If true, it would be the most significant assassination yet of an official working for the occupational government of Russia in Ukraine.
Ukraine has claimed to have destroyed a key strategic bridge used by Russian forces in Kherson.
Ukraine’s armed forces shared a series of satellite images purporting to show the damaged structure on Tuesday night.
“Photo of the destroyed pontoon bridge near Darivka in the Kherson Region,” the force said in a Telegram update. “The Rashists [Russians] used it to cross the Ingulets River.”
The military added that the images show “significant damage to the Daryiv bridge itself” as well as damage to a building near the river.
“Approximately 250 meters from the crossing, the satellite also recorded a cluster of Russian military equipment and a large number of trenches,” the force added.
Moscow has sent a request to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requesting “additional explanations” on some areas in their report following a visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the request had been made on Wednesday, according to Russian media outlets.
Other Russian officials have criticised the agency for not identifying Ukraine as the perpetrator of attacks on the plant.
A “parallel” counteroffensive is occurring in eastern and north-eastern Ukraine as well as in the south, a senior presidential adviser has claimed.
Oleksiy Arestovych said on Telegram late on Tuesday night:
We are advancing and pressing almost along the entire frontline.
In the coming months, we can expect the defeat of the Russian army in the Kherson region on the western bank of the Dnieper and a significant advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the east.”
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Ukrainian forces have attacked the Russian-occupied eastern town of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region, a senior Russian-appointed official has said.
The town of 27,000 people lies between Kharkiv and Russian-held Izyum, a city with a major railway hub used by Moscow to supply its forces.
Today, the Ukrainian armed forces, after prolonged artillery preparation … began an attack on Balakliia,” Russian official with the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic Daniil Bezsonov said on Telegram on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report.
Bezsonov added that if the town were lost, Russian forces in Izyum would become vulnerable on their northwest flank.
The Ukrainian armed forces concentrated mass fire on the mobile groups of the Donetsk People’s Republic, which had taken up defensive positions in nearby forests.
At this time, Balakliia is in operative encirclement and within the firing range of Ukrainian artillery. All approaches are cut off by fire.”
Luhansk region governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television, without giving locations, that a “counter-attack is under way and … our forces are enjoying some success. Let’s leave it at that”.
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Liz Truss pledges ‘full backing’ to Ukraine
Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss spoke with her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy to pledge her “full backing” for Ukraine during a call on Tuesday.
Truss reiterated the United Kingdom’s “steadfast support” for Ukraine’s freedom and democracy, a statement released by Downing Street read.
In her first call with a counterpart since becoming prime minister, she reiterated to the Ukrainian leader that he had her full backing, and Ukraine could depend on the UK’s assistance for the long term.
The leaders discussed the need to strengthen global security and the measures necessary to cut off the funds fuelling Putin’s war machine.
The leaders deplored Putin’s attempts to weaponise energy, and the prime minister said it was vital Russia’s blackmail did not deter the west from ensuring Putin fails. She also underscored the importance of ensuring the UK and our allies continue to build energy independence.”
Zelenskiy said he congratulated Truss on the appointment to her new role, saying he felt that the leaders “will be able to build a profound and productive relationship”.
He added that he extended an invite to the new British prime minister to visit Ukraine.
I spoke to President @ZelenskyyUa this evening and reiterated our steadfast support for Ukraine’s freedom and democracy.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) September 6, 2022
Russia's attempts to weaponise energy must not deter the West.
Ukraine can depend on the UK for support in the long term. 🇬🇧🇺🇦 https://t.co/Mai0LjY5AN pic.twitter.com/QdAAsMq8ZA
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UN calls for demilitarised zone around nuclear plant
The UN has called for a demilitarised zone around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
Secretary general António Guterres urged for the withdrawal of Russian occupying troops and the agreement of Ukrainian forces not to move in.
An agreement on a demilitarised perimeter should be secured,” he said.
Specifically, that will include the commitment by Russian forces to withdraw military personnel and equipment from that perimeter and the commitment by Ukrainian forces not to move in.”
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters ahead of the council meeting, “if we demilitarise then the Ukrainians will immediately step in and ruin the whole thing.”
UN finds extensive damage around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The UN nuclear watchdog has said its experts found extensive damage at Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in a report presented to the UN security council on Tuesday.
Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said his team closely witnessed shelling in the vicinity of the power plant and confirmed the presence of Russian soldiers and military equipment.
The report also found Ukrainian staff were operating under constant high stress and pressure where there was an increased possibility of human error.
The IAEA said it was “gravely concerned” about the “unprecedented” situation at the plant, which is controlled by Russian forces but operated by Ukrainian technicians, and urged interim measures to prevent a nuclear disaster.
Ukrainian staff were operating under constant high stress and pressure, especially with the limited staff available, the report said. “This is not sustainable and could lead to increased human error with implications for nuclear safety,” it added.
While the ongoing shelling has not yet triggered a nuclear emergency, it continues to represent a constant threat to nuclear safety and security with potential impact on critical safety functions that may lead to radiological consequences with great safety significance,” the inspectors wrote.
Areas damaged by shelling included a turbine lubrication oil tank and the roofs of various buildings such as one housing a spent fuel transporter vehicle.
“We are playing with fire and something very, very catastrophic could take place,” Grossi said.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
I’m Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments for the next short while. Whether you’ve been following our coverage overnight or you’ve just dropped in, here are the latest lines.
An expert mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has released its findings from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in a detailed report.
It is 7.30am in Kyiv. Here is where things stand:
