KYIV: Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of exploiting its position in a nuclear power plant it had seized to target a nearby town in a rocket attack that killed at least 13 people and left many others seriously wounded.
The town Ukraine says Russia targeted – Marhanets – is one that Russia has alleged Ukrainian forces have used in the past to shell Russian forces who are holed up at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which they took over in March.
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of imperilling the safety of the vast plant – Europe’s largest – by attacking one another in its vicinity.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has urged both sides to exercise restraint, warning of the “very real risk of a nuclear disaster.”
And foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialised countries on Wednesday demanded that Russia immediately hand back control of the plant to Ukraine, something Moscow seems unlikely to do.
There was no immediate comment from Russia on the Ukrainian allegations of a rocket attack on Marhanets and Reuters could not independently verify the allegations.
Moscow says it does not deliberately target civilians in what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine aimed at pre-emptively safeguarding its own security against expansion of the NATO military alliance.
Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, accused Russia of launching attacks on Ukrainian towns with impunity from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the knowledge that it was risky for Ukraine to fight back.
“Eighty reactive rockets fired at residential buildings,” Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging service, referring to the attack on Marhanets.
“The terrorist nation is continuing to fight against civilians. The cowardly Russians can’t do anything more so they strike towns ignobly hiding at the Zaporizhzhia atomic power station”, he wrote.
Ukraine, which accuses Moscow of waging an unprovoked imperial-style war of aggression, says around 500 Russian troops with heavy vehicles and weapons are stationed at the plant, where Ukrainian technicians continue to work.
Russia says its forces are behaving responsibly and doing everything they can to ensure the facility’s safety. Moscow has accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant, something Kyiv denies.
RUSSIAN OIL SUPPLY
Russian oil flows halted to parts of Europe should resume after Hungarian group MOL paid transit fees owed to Ukraine, officials and a minister said, providing a temporary solution to the latest disruption of Russian energy supplies.
Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported the pipeline monopoly Transneft planned to resume oil pumping through the southern branch of the Druzhba, or Friendship, pipeline at 1600 Moscow time (13:00 GMT).
On Tuesday, Transneft said Russian oil pipeline flows had been suspended to parts of central Europe since August 4 because Western sanctions prevented the payment of transit fees from Moscow to Ukraine.
The suspension drove up oil prices, which have already surged along with those for other forms of energy, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine has raised concerns of shortages, especially in Europe, which depends on Russian fuel.
On Wednesday oil prices fell after the news the Druzhba pipeline flows would resume, and also on expectations of weaker demand.
Central European countries, including Hungary, are especially reliant on Russian energy and Hungary has criticised European Union sanctions against Moscow. — Reuters
