Things to remember from Monday 8 August

All eyes are on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. Moscow was accused of bombing an occupied plant by its troops on Monday, August 8. The Kremlin also pointed to the bombing of a power plant “Could have catastrophic consequences for a wide area, including the European territory”.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised fears of a Chernobyl disaster. “The World Must Not Forget” Because the largest nuclear disaster in history “It was a reactor explosion and the Zaporizhia power plant has six reactors.”He gave the hammer in a video posted on social networks in the evening.

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Concerns around the Zaporizhia power plant

The two militants have been accusing each other since Friday of carrying out the bomb attack at the plant. “We continue to call on Russia to cease all military operations in and around Ukrainian nuclear power plants and to take back control of Ukraine.”, the White House insisted on Monday. Washington said“Fortunately, we have no indication of any abnormal increase in radiation levels.”.

“Any attack on nuclear power plants is suicide”UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned. “I hope these attacks will end. At the same time, I hope the IAEA will be able to gain access to the plant.”.

Referendum preparation in Zaporizhia province

In the partially occupied Zaporizhia province, Moscow-appointed officials have officially announced the start of preparations for a referendum on its annexation by Russia. Earlier in the day, Volodymyr Zelensky warned against the Russians “Polls”If they continue like this, warn them “They will close themselves off from the possibility of negotiating with Ukraine and the free world, which they will certainly need at some point.”.

The grain march continues

At the same time, regular cycles of supply to global agricultural markets that began last week continued. A cargo ship loaded with 60,000 tons of grain left for the first time since the war began, in one of three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, Pivtenny, which was involved in an agreement signed by the belligerents on July 22. The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure believes “Achieving a rate of three to five ships per day” Have to leave the country in two weeks.

The disarmament treaty is undermining

Amid the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Moscow on Monday “officially” handed over to Washington “all Russian military bases subject to US inspections under the New Start disarmament treaty”. “Temporary exclusionThis includes missile attack sites, air and naval bases where nuclear weapons are located.

As a reminder, the new initiative limits the arsenals of the planet’s two major nuclear powers to a maximum of 1,550 warheads each, the last bilateral agreement of its kind to bind Washington and Moscow.

New aid to Ukraine released

Washington announced $1 billion in new military aid to Kyiv. This new support includes munitions for Himars precision artillery systems, short- and medium-range missiles for Nassams air defense systems, and the dreaded Javelin anti-tank weapon. The World Bank, for its part, has announced that it will give Ukraine $4.5 billion thanks to US funding to help the government. “Urgent Needs Created by War”.

A new report was issued by Washington

Overall, according to the Pentagon, “70,000 to 80,000 troops” Russians have been killed or injured since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. According to The Pentagon’s No. 3 said Ukrainian forces had also suffered heavy losses, but he did not give precise figures. For its part, Kyiv reported at least 10,000 dead and 30,000 wounded among its troops.