logo
1 civilian killed due to Ukraine's shelling near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: operator

1 civilian killed due to Ukraine's shelling near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: operator

The Star5 days ago
MOSCOW, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- A civilian was killed near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant amid Ukrainian shelling of a nearby industrial zone, the plant's operator said Saturday.
"As a result of artillery shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, a fire broke out in the industrial zone. During a site inspection, a damaged civilian passenger vehicle, unrelated to the plant's operations, was discovered. To our deep regret, a deceased civilian was found inside the vehicle," the operator said in a post on social media Telegram.
While firefighters worked to extinguish the fire, a fire truck was targeted by a Ukrainian drone, according to the post.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement that its experts stationed at the power plant heard explosions and observed smoke on Saturday coming from a location 1.2 kilometers from the plant's site perimeter.
"Once again, I call for maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities to prevent the continued risk of a nuclear accident," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, located in southern Ukraine, is Europe's largest nuclear power facility.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Kremlin: Trump, Putin to meet soon as Ukraine seeks EU role
Kremlin: Trump, Putin to meet soon as Ukraine seeks EU role

The Sun

time3 hours ago

  • The Sun

Kremlin: Trump, Putin to meet soon as Ukraine seeks EU role

MOSCOW/KYIV/WASHINGTON: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the coming days, the Kremlin said on Thursday, as the U.S. president seeks a breakthrough to end the Ukraine war after voicing mounting frustration with his Russian counterpart and threatening him with new sanctions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Europe must be involved in the peace process as he spoke on Thursday to European leaders, who are seen as more sympathetic to Kyiv's cause amid Trump's previous criticism of the Ukrainian leader. Trump has threatened new sanctions from Friday against Russia and countries that buy its exports unless Putin agrees to end the 3-1/2-year conflict, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two. Asked whether the Friday deadline to agree to a ceasefire still stood, Trump told reporters: 'It's gonna be up to him. We're going to see what he has to say.' On Wednesday he imposed higher tariffs against India for buying Russian oil and said similar additional duties may follow on China, the other top buyer of Russian crude oil. It was not clear if he would announce further steps once his Friday deadline expires. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia and the U.S. had agreed to hold a Putin-Trump summit 'in the coming days'. Moves on a possible bilateral come following a three-hour meeting on Wednesday between Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff and Putin in Moscow. Putin, at a meeting with the president of the United Arab Emirates, said the UAE would be an 'entirely suitable' venue for the meeting but stopped short of confirming that the Gulf country would be the host. Russia's deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy on Thursday said of the Trump-Putin meeting that 'as far as I heard, there are a number of locations but they agreed to something that they don't want to disclose.' There has been no summit of U.S. and Russian leaders since Putin and Joe Biden met in Geneva in June 2021. Russia went to war in Ukraine in February 2022, citing threats to its own security and plunging relations into deep crisis. Kyiv and its Western allies cast the invasion as an imperial-style land grab. Trump has moved to mend relations with Russia and try to end the war, although in his public comments he has veered between admiration and sharp criticism of Putin. Russia's main stock market index MOEX gained as much as 5% on the news, its highest level in two months. The rouble hit a two-week high against the U.S. dollar and China's yuan. 'Russian stocks are soaring. Investors hope that the (Trump-Putin) meeting will be a step towards normalizing the geopolitical situation,' Alfa Bank analysts said in a note. A White House official also said on Wednesday that Trump could meet Putin as soon as next week. The New York Times reported that Trump told European leaders during a call on Wednesday that he intended to meet with Putin and then follow up with a trilateral involving the Russian leader and Zelenskiy. ZELENSKIY: EUROPE MUST HAVE A ROLE Ukraine and European leaders have long held concerns that Trump, who has voiced sympathy with some of Russia's demands, could align with Putin to force a deal on Zelenskiy that would be deeply disadvantageous to Kyiv. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Witkoff took part in Wednesday's call between Trump, Zelenskiy and European leaders and briefed them on some things that Putin could agree to. Zelenskiy spoke on Thursday with the leaders of France and Germany and with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and said Europe must be involved in the peace process. 'The war is happening in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe – we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes,' he said on X. He said the war must end with a 'dignified peace', and whatever settlement was reached would shape the security landscape of Europe for decades to come. Russia had still not said it was ready for a ceasefire, he added. Mykola Bielieskov of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv said offering Putin a summit with Trump amounted to giving him a reward without getting anything in return. This, he said, gave Russia 'the impression of getting out of isolation and talking on an equal footing'. He said the Kremlin 'will continue to drag out time, using the very fact of the meetings as proof of openness to negotiations without any concessions'. Zelenskiy said various possible bilateral and trilateral meeting formats had been discussed with Trump. 'Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side,' he added. 'MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL' Ushakov said envoy Witkoff had raised on Wednesday the possibility of a Trump-Putin-Zelenskiy meeting but the Russian side had left this proposal 'completely without comment'. Asked about the possibility of meeting Zelenskiy, Putin said he was willing in principle but the conditions for a face-to-face with the Ukrainian leader were far from being met. Trump told reporters on Thursday that a meeting with Putin was not conditional on the Russian president agreeing to meet with Zelenskiy. Under the Biden administration, which imposed onerous sanctions on Moscow, Russia had described relations with the U.S. as 'below zero'. Under Trump, both sides have spoken of a possible re-establishing of lucrative commercial ties. Pro-Kremlin war blogger Yuri Podolyaka, posting after the Putin-Witkoff talks, said the Russian leader had played a 'masterful diplomatic game'. 'It seems that Vladimir Putin has managed to spin Trump in a 'carousel of negotiations',' he posted on his blog, which has more than three million subscribers. On the streets of Kyiv, Ukrainians interviewed by Reuters were wary of what might come out of a Putin-Trump meeting. 'I don't expect any positives,' Mykhailo Kryshtal, a 55-year-old actor, said. 'Why should he (Putin) end this war? He has at his fingertips a lot of people willing to die for him, or for some ephemeral ideas produced in Russia. These are all some kind of games.' - Reuters

Trump says would meet Putin without Zelensky sit-down
Trump says would meet Putin without Zelensky sit-down

Borneo Post

time5 hours ago

  • Borneo Post

Trump says would meet Putin without Zelensky sit-down

Donald Trump (left) said Aug 6, 2025 he could meet with Vladimir Putin (right) 'very soon,' following what the US President described as highly productive talks in Moscow between his special envoy and the Russian leader. – AFP file photo WASHINGTON (Aug 8): US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would meet with Vladimir Putin for upcoming talks on the Ukraine war even if the Russian leader had not sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The statement, which contradicted earlier reports that a Putin-Zelensky meeting was a prerequisite for the summit, came after Trump gave Moscow until Friday to reach a ceasefire or face fresh sanctions. But asked by reporters in the Oval Office if that deadline still held, Trump did not answer clearly. 'It's going to be up to (Putin),' Trump said. 'We're going to see what he has to say.' Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has been pressuring Moscow to end Russia's military assault on Ukraine. The Kremlin said Thursday that Putin was set to attend a summit with Trump in the 'coming days,' but the Russian leader essentially ruled out including Zelensky. On Thursday, Zelensky insisted that he had to be involved in any talks. When Trump was asked if Putin was required to meet Zelensky before a summit, the US president said simply: 'No, he doesn't.' Putin has named the United Arab Emirates as a potential location for the summit, but this was not confirmed by Washington. – Next week? – The summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021. Three rounds of direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to yield any progress towards a ceasefire. The two sides remain far apart on the conditions they have set to end the more than three-year-long conflict. Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump's first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since the tycoon returned to the White House this year. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that 'next week has been set as a target date,' adding that both sides have agreed the venue 'in principle,' without naming it. However, Washington later denied that a venue or date had been set. 'No location has been determined,' a White House official said, while agreeing that the meeting 'could occur as early as next week.' Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022. Russian bombardments have forced millions of people to flee their homes and have destroyed swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire. At talks in Istanbul, Russian negotiators outlined hardline territorial demands for halting its advance — calling for Kyiv to withdraw from some territory it still controls and to renounce Western military support. – 'Time we ended the war' – Reports of the possible summit came after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Zelensky, but Putin appeared to rule out direct talks with the Ukrainian leader. 'Certain conditions must be created for this,' Putin told reporters. 'Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.' The former KGB agent, who has ruled Russia for over 25 years, said in June that he was ready to meet Zelensky, but only during a 'final phase' of negotiations on ending the conflict. In his regular evening address on Thursday, Zelensky said 'it is only fair that Ukraine should be a participant in the negotiations.' The Ukrainian leader spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as he called for the continent to be included in any potential peace talks. 'Ukraine is an integral part of Europe — we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes,' Zelensky said on social media after the conversation with Merz. He also said that Ukrainian, European and US security advisors would hold an online meeting on Thursday 'to align our joint views.' 'Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side. It is time we ended the war,' he said. – AFP

Macron backs Ukraine ceasefire after talks with Zelenskiy and EU leaders
Macron backs Ukraine ceasefire after talks with Zelenskiy and EU leaders

The Sun

time5 hours ago

  • The Sun

Macron backs Ukraine ceasefire after talks with Zelenskiy and EU leaders

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday reaffirmed France's full support for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the launch of talks aimed at reaching a lasting and solid peace, following a 'long discussion' with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other European leaders. 'I reiterated to the Ukrainian President France's full support for establishing a ceasefire and launching discussions toward a solid and lasting solution that preserves Ukraine's legitimate rights and guarantees its security and that of Europeans.' he said on social media platform X. - Reuters

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store