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This blog is closing now, thanks for following the day’s developments. All our Ukraine news is here
Here is a summary of events today:
- Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for renewed shelling on Saturday night of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia.
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for new international sanctions on Moscow for “nuclear terror”, including sanctions to be imposed on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel.
- Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, Energoatom, said a worker was wounded when Russian forces reportedly shelled the plant, the biggest in Europe, on Saturday evening.
- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has raised grave concerns about shelling at the plant.
- Four ships carrying Ukrainian foodstuffs sailed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Sunday.
- Pope Francis welcomed the departure of the ships carrying grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports saying this could be a model for dialogue to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
- The Ukrainian military said Russian shelling was recorded in dozens of towns along the eastern and southern front lines.
- Ukraine is investigating almost 26,000 suspected war crime cases committed since Russia’s invasion in February and has charged 135 people, its chief war crimes prosecutor told Reuters.
- Human rights group Amnesty International apologised for the “distress and anger” caused by a report that accused Ukraine of endangering civilians.
- UK defence secretary Ben Wallace welcomed a decision by Sweden to join countries contributing to the UK-led programme to train Ukrainian personnel in the UK.
- The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, landed in South Africa on Sunday on a three-nation visit with a reported aim of countering Russian influence on the continent.
- Hollywood actor Jessica Chastain visited Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv today. On Telegram Zelenskiy thanked her for meeting with him adding, such visits are “extremely valuable” for helping the world “hear, know and understand” what is happening in Ukraine.
Jessica Chastain met with president Zelenskiy in Kyiv today. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters
Hollywood actor Jessica Chastain has met with Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Writing on Telegram, the president said:
American actress Jessica Chastain is in Ukraine today.
For us, such visits of famous people are extremely valuable.
Thanks to this, the world will hear, know and understand the truth about what is happening in our country even more.
Thanks for the support!
Chastain also visited the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, according to Ukrainian public broadcaster, Suspilne News.
Here are some images coming over the wires today.
A Ukrainian serviceman pushes a trolley inside a supermarket in Kharkiv. Photograph: Nacho Doce/Reuters
People attending a service in a church in Donbas today. Photograph: Bülent Kılıç/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian emergency services attend to an injured man in Opytne, Ukraine. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine is a focus of attention in the war after Kyiv accused Russia of shelling the plant again and damaging radiation sensors.
The plant, in Russian-controlled territory, was also shelled on Friday. Moscow blames Ukrainian forces for the strikes.
Reuters has put together some facts about Europe’s largest nuclear facility.
- Zaporizhzhia is the largest of Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants, which together provide about half the country’s electricity.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February was the first time war has broken out in a country with such a large and established nuclear power programme, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says.
- Zaporizhzhia’s six units each have a net capacity of 950 Megawatts electric, or a total of 5.7 Gigawatts electric, according to an IAEA database. The first unit was connected to the grid in 1984, and the last in 1995.
- The plant is of strategic importance to Russia because it is only about 200 km (125 miles) from Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. The plant was captured by Russian forces in the opening stage of the war but it is still run by its Ukrainian technicians.
- Shells hit a high-voltage power line at the facility on Friday, prompting its operators to disconnect a reactor despite no radioactive leak being detected.
Ukrainian emergency services have released drone footage of a burning building in Mykolaiv, after what authorities say was a Russian strike.
Mykolaiv borders the mostly Russian-occupied Kherson region. A medical facility in the southern port city was recently damaged in a Russian attack, which Mykolaiv’s mayor described as ‘terrorism’
Drone footage purports to show aftermath of shelling in Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv – video
Summary
Key developments today so far.
- Ukraine and Russia blamed each other on Sunday for renewed shelling on Saturday night of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia.
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for new international sanctions on Moscow for “nuclear terror”, including sanctions to be imposed on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel.
- Moscow blames Ukrainian forces for the strikes.Russian occupation authorities in the city of Energodar where the plant is located said that overnight, “the Ukrainian army carried out an attack with a cluster bomb fired from an Uragan rocket launcher.”
- Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, Energoatom, said a worker was wounded when Russian forces reportedly shelled the plant, the biggest in Europe, on Saturday evening.
- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has raised grave concerns about shelling at the plant, which is in Russian-controlled territory and was also shelled on Friday.
- Four ships carrying Ukrainian foodstuffs sailed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Sunday as part of a deal to unblock the country’s sea exports. The four bulk carriers were loaded with more than 160,000 tonnes of corn and other foodstuffs.The resumption of grain exports is being overseen by a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul where Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN personnel are working.
- Pope Francis welcomed the departure from Ukrainian Black Sea ports of the ships carrying grain saying the breakthrough could be a model for dialogue to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
- The Ukrainian military said Russian shelling was recorded in dozens of towns along the eastern and southern front lines. Reuters reports Ukraine’s military said late on Saturday that Russian forces had shelled dozens of front-line towns and were trying to attack in six different areas in the Donetsk region.
- Ukraine is investigating almost 26,000 suspected war crime cases committed since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion and has charged 135 people, its chief war crimes prosecutor told Reuters.
- Human rights group Amnesty International apologised for the “distress and anger” caused by a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians, which infuriated president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and triggered the resignation if its Kyiv office head, Reuters reports. The report, published on Thursday, said the presence of Ukrainian troops in residential areas heightened risks to civilians during Russia’s invasion.
- UK defence secretary Ben Wallace welcomed a decision by Sweden to join countries contributing to the UK-led programme to train Ukrainian personnel in the UK.
- The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, landed in South Africa on Sunday to kick off a three-nation visit reportedly aimed at countering Russian influence on the continent. The visit come after Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, undertook an extensive tour of Africa late last month.
Ukraine is investigating almost 26,000 suspected war crime cases committed since Russia’s February invasion and has charged 135 people, its chief war crimes prosecutor has told Reuters.
Of those charged, about 15 were in Ukrainian custody and the remaining 120 remained at large, Yuriy Bilousov, head of the war crimes department of the prosecutor general’s office, said in an interview in the capital, Kyiv.
Thirteen cases had been submitted to courts and seven verdicts issued, he said.
In May, a 21-year-old captured Russian soldier became the first person to be convicted in a war crimes trial in Ukraine since Russia invaded on 24 February. He was sentenced to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian.
“Sometimes we’ve been asked why we prosecute such … low-ranked officers. It’s just because they are physically here … If generals were here physically and we were able to capture [them], we would definitely prosecute generals,” Reuters reported Bilousov as saying.
Updated at 15.16 BST
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy presents orders and the other state awards to service personnel and to members of the families of fallen soldiers in Kyiv on Sunday on the Air Force of Ukraine Day.
Handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press service shows the President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) presenting orders and the other state awards to the service personnel and to the members of the families of fallen soldiers in Kyiv on August 7, 2022, on the occasion of the of the Air Force of Ukraine Day. Photograph: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER/AFP/Getty Images
Ukraine and Russia are pointing the finger at each other for shelling at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
While the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called for a stronger international response to fresh shelling at the plant, reportedly by Russian forces, Russian occupation authorities claimed on Sunday a strike reportedly by Ukrainian forces had damaged administrative buildings inside the complex, AFP reports.
Zaporizhzhia – Europe’s largest atomic power complex that was occupied by Russia early in its offensive – has in recent days been the scene of military strikes that have damaged several structures, forcing the shutdown of a reactor.
On Sunday, Russian occupation authorities in the city of Energodar where the plant is located said that overnight, “the Ukrainian army carried out an attack with a cluster bomb fired from an Uragan rocket launcher,” AFP reports.
“The projectiles fell within 400 metres of a working reactor,” Russia’s TASS state news agency quoted them as saying.
The strike damaged some administrative buildings and fell in a “zone storing used nuclear fuel”.
The information could not be independently verified.
As Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the attacks, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned on Saturday of “the very real risk of a nuclear disaster”.
Updated at 14.37 BST
Amnesty International apologised on Sunday for “distress and anger” caused by a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians which infuriated President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and triggered the resignation of its Kviy office head.
The rights group published the report on Thursday saying the presence of Ukrainian troops in residential areas heightened risks to civilians during Russia’s invasion, Reuters reports.
“Amnesty International deeply regrets the distress and anger that our press release on the Ukrainian military’s fighting tactics has caused,” it said in an email to Reuters.
“Amnesty International’s priority in this and in any conflict is ensuring that civilians are protected. Indeed, this was our sole objective when releasing this latest piece of research. While we fully stand by our findings, we regret the pain caused.”
Zelenskiy accused the group of trying to shift responsibility from Russian aggression, while Amnesty’s Ukraine head, Oksana Pokalchuk, quit, saying the report was a propaganda gift for Moscow.
Ukrainian officials say they try to evacuate civilians from front-line areas. Russia, which denies targeting civilians, has not commented on the rights report.
In its email on Sunday, Amnesty said it had found Ukrainian forces next to civilian residences in 19 towns and villages it visited, exposing them to risk of incoming Russian fire.
“This does not mean that Amnesty International holds Ukrainian forces responsible for violations committed by Russian forces, nor that the Ukrainian military is not taking adequate precautions elsewhere in the country,” it said.
“We must be very clear: Nothing we documented Ukrainian forces doing in any way justifies Russian violations.”
Updated at 14.00 BST
Pope Francis welcomed the departure from Ukrainian Black Sea ports of the first ships carrying grain previously blockaded by Russia, saying the breakthrough could be a model for dialogue to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
At his weekly address to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Francis said:
This step shows that it is possible to conduct dialogue to reach concrete results, which help everyone.
This event presents itself as a sign of hope and my own heartfelt wish is that following this path, it will be possible to bring an end to the fighting and reach a just and lasting peace.
Zelenskiy calls for stronger international response to Russia’s ‘nuclear terror’
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called for stronger international response to Russia’s “nuclear terror” after reported new shelling at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant. During a phone call with the European Council president, Charles Michel, Zelenskiy called for sanctions to be imposed on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel, the Ukrainian leader wrote on Twitter.
Talked with @eucopresident Charles Michel, told about the situation on the battlefield, in particular at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Russian nuclear terror requires a stronger response from the international community – sanctions on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel. (1/2)
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 7, 2022
Updated at 13.31 BST
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