Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission, led by IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, meet with journalists at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Ukrainian President Zelensky visits Zaporizhzhia
From CNN’s Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the region of Zaporizhzhia which remains partially occupied by Russia.
“I am honored to be here today, next to our military,” he said as he posted a picture on Telegram, announcing the visit to Zaporizhzhia.
“I am thankful to each of our warriors for defending Ukraine, our sovereignty, our cities, and our children,” he added. “We will definitely win.”
Last week, Zelensky paid a surprise visit to wounded troops at a hospital in the eastern Donetsk region near the front lines.
Video shows hundreds of graves at cemetery reserved for Wagner fighters in southern Russia
From CNN’s Gianluca Mezzofiore and Tim Lister
Social media video geolocated by CNN shows long rows of freshly dug graves at a cemetery in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar reserved for fighters of the Wagner mercenary group.
A woman can be heard in one of the videos saying it’s the cemetery where all the “Wagnerites” are buried, and claimed that the graves are all from the end of 2022 and the first months of 2023, but CNN cannot independently verify that.
The video shows dozens of long rows of graves — all with the same floral tribute — and is one of several to have been recently filmed at the cemetery near the city of Goryachy Klyuch. There are two cemeteries in the area that now contain Wagner graves.
Some background: The burial of Wagner fighters in the area has sparked a dispute. Earlier this month, Sergey Belopolsky, the mayor of Goryachy Klyuch, banned the further burial of Wagner fighters. Then, Krasnordar Gov. Veniamin Kondratiev overturned the ban after complaints from the head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
UN nuclear watchdog chief will visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant this week
From CNN’s Tim Lister
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, is expected to visit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine this week.
Grossi tweeted Sunday, saying he is on his way for a first-hand assessment of “the nuclear safety & security situation at the facility. I will continue my efforts to protect the nuclear plant during the ongoing military conflict, & lead our next regular rotation of IAEA experts to & from the site.”
In a statement released Saturday, the IAEA quoted Grossi as saying he wanted to see “how the situation has evolved since September and to talk to those operating the facility.”
Grossi also said the situation at the plant remains “precarious” despite an IAEA presence at the site for seven months, according to the statement.
He continues to work on a proposal to protect the plant, the statement said further.
It’s mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here’s what you need to know
From CNN staff
The Kremlin said it will press on with plans to store nuclear weapons in Belarus, after Western leaders criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions as “dangerous and irresponsible.”
Meanwhile, there have been strikes in the Donetsk region and the battle for Bakhmut is intensifying.
Here are the latest developments:
- Nuclear weapons: The Kremlin said on Monday that Western criticism “cannot affect” Moscow’s plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in its neighboring ally, Belarus, despite widespread condemnation from NATO and Lithuania. “Obviously, such a reaction cannot affect Russia’s plans,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday. The US has said there are no indications Russia will use nuclear weapons.
- Strikes in Sloviansk: Russian missile strikes in the eastern city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region killed at least two people and injured another 29, including one child, according to a regional military official. Further south, Ukrainian and Russian forces reported explosions in the occupied city of Melitopol.
- Battle for Bakhmut: Russian and Ukrainian forces are caught in “the most intense phase” of the battle for control of Bakhmut, according to a top Ukrainian official. It comes as the Russian mercenary group Wagner says it captured a metal plant near the besieged city.
- Mariupol assassination attempt: There was an assassination attempt against Mikhail Moskvin, the police chief in the occupied city of Mariupol on Monday, according to Russian news agency TASS. Moskvin survived the attack, after his car exploded a few meters away from him, TASS reported.
Source: cnn.com
