Ukraine protests to IAEA over Russia building power lines to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine has protested to the international atomic energy watchdog about reports that Russia is building power lines to connect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to its own grid, a Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.
Yuriy Vitrenko, Ukraine's representative to international bodies in Vienna, told Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform that Kyiv sees any attempt by Russia to connect the occupied plant to its grid as a gross violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty.
On Tuesday, The New York times cited a new Greenpeace report which found that Russia had been building more than 50 miles (80 km) of power lines between the occupied Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated that attempts to restart the plant could lead to a nuclear disaster, as Russian personnel are unfamiliar with the significantly upgraded equipment, are not trained to use it, and the condition of the plant itself is unknown.
The lack of sufficient water volumes to cool the reactors after the Russian-held Kakhovka dam was blown up in June 2023, unleashing flooding, was an additional source of danger, they say.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the issue of restarting the plant would be discussed at meetings during his visits to Ukraine and possibly to Russia in the coming days.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
North Korea internet hit by a major outage, analyst says
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea's internet is experiencing a major outage on Saturday, said a UK-based researcher, adding that the cause may be may be internal rather than a cyberattack. North Korea's main news web sites and its Foreign Ministry internet site were inaccessible on Saturday morning, according to checks by Reuters. "A major outage is currently occurring on North Korea's internet - affecting all routes whether they come in via China or Russia," said Junade Ali, a U.K.-based researcher who monitors the North Korean internet. North Korea's entire internet infrastructure is not showing up on systems that can monitor internet activities, he said. "Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental - but seems like this is internal rather than an attack," he said. Officials at South Korea's Police cyber terror response centre which monitors North Korea's cyber activities could not be reached for comment.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Japan trade negotiator Akazawa says he made progress in US tariff talks
By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan had made some progress in a fifth round of trade talks with U.S. officials aimed at ending tariffs that are hurting Japan's economy, Tokyo's chief tariff negotiator said. "Tariffs have already been imposed on autos, auto parts, steel and aluminum, and some of them have doubled to 50% along with 10% general tariff. These are causing daily losses to Japan's economy," Ryosei Akazawa, said in Washington on Friday after talks with officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Akazawa declined to say what progress they had made. The latest round of talks may be the last in-person meeting between senior Japanese and U.S. officials before the Group of Seven (G7) leaders summit that starts on June 15, where U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japan also faces a 24% tariff rate starting in July unless it can negotiate a deal with Washington. "We want an agreement as soon as possible. The G7 summit is on our radar, and if our leaders meet, we want to show what progress has been made," Akazawa said. "Still we must balance urgency with a need to guard our national interests," he added. Last month Japan's trade negotiator said U.S. defence equipment purchases, shipbuilding technology collaboration, a revision of automobile import standards and an increase in agricultural imports could be bargaining chips in tariff talks. In a bid to reach an agreement with the U.S., Japan is also proposing a mechanism to reduce the auto tariff rate based on how much countries contribute to the U.S. auto industry, the Asahi newspaper reported on Friday. Akazawa said Japan's position has not changed and that the tariffs are not acceptable. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Japan trade negotiator Akazawa says he made progress in US tariff talks
By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan had made some progress in a fifth round of trade talks with U.S. officials aimed at ending tariffs that are hurting Japan's economy, Tokyo's chief tariff negotiator said. "Tariffs have already been imposed on autos, auto parts, steel and aluminum, and some of them have doubled to 50% along with 10% general tariff. These are causing daily losses to Japan's economy," Ryosei Akazawa, said in Washington on Friday after talks with officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Akazawa declined to say what progress they had made. The latest round of talks may be the last in-person meeting between senior Japanese and U.S. officials before the Group of Seven (G7) leaders summit that starts on June 15, where U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japan also faces a 24% tariff rate starting in July unless it can negotiate a deal with Washington. "We want an agreement as soon as possible. The G7 summit is on our radar, and if our leaders meet, we want to show what progress has been made," Akazawa said. "Still we must balance urgency with a need to guard our national interests," he added. Last month Japan's trade negotiator said U.S. defence equipment purchases, shipbuilding technology collaboration, a revision of automobile import standards and an increase in agricultural imports could be bargaining chips in tariff talks. In a bid to reach an agreement with the U.S., Japan is also proposing a mechanism to reduce the auto tariff rate based on how much countries contribute to the U.S. auto industry, the Asahi newspaper reported on Friday. Akazawa said Japan's position has not changed and that the tariffs are not acceptable. Sign in to access your portfolio
