Live blog: Russia calls emergency IAEA meeting on Zaporizhzhia attacks

Monday, April 8, 2024

1648 GMT –– Russia's ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog has said his country had called an emergency meeting of the watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors over what it says are Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).

"Russia requested an extraordinary session of the Board with regard to the recent attacks and provocations of the armed forces of Ukraine against the ZNPP," Mikhail Ulyanov said on social media platform X.

The Board's rules state that any country on it, such as Russia, can call a meeting.

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1737 GMT –– EU agrees tougher restrictions on Ukraine farm imports

EU states and the European Parliament have agreed on tougher restrictions on some Ukraine farm imports, Belgium, which holds the European Union presidency, said.

The accord extends duty-free access the bloc has given to Ukrainian agricultural goods since Russia's 2022 incursion but sets caps for poultry, eggs, sugar, maize, goats and honey to average volumes seen between mid-2021 and end-2023.

No cap was applied to wheat, which countries such as France and Poland had initially argued for.

1559 GMT –– Four killed in Russian air strikes on Ukraine's north and south

Russian missile and guided bomb attacks have killed four people in Ukraine's south and north, officials said.

A missile strike killed three people and injured at least eight more in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.

An industrial building, seven apartment blocks, as well as medical and educational facilities were damaged there, authorities said. They did not disclose the nature of the industrial site.

1428 GMT –– 'If Ukraine loses, we all lose,' warn top UK, French diplomats

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne have reaffirmed their countries' support for Ukraine, saying it "must win" the war against Russia that started more than two years ago.

In a joint article published by the Telegraph, Cameron and Sejourne celebrated the 120 years of cooperation between the two countries as part of the Entente Cordiale, a series of agreements signed in 1904.

1410 GMT –– German chancellor to discuss Ukraine war on upcoming China visit

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to embark on a three-day visit to China for political talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit has said.

Scholz plans to also discuss the Ukrainian war when he meets the Chinese leadership on April 16, including Beijing’s likely mediation role between Moscow and Kiev, Hebestreit said at a press briefing in Berlin.

"I believe China has influence on Russia and our wish would be that China can use the influence it has on Russia in order to contribute to a more peaceful development in the Ukraine conflict," he added.

1316 GMT –– Russia claims shooting down Ukrainian drone over Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

The Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station has claimed that Ukraine attempted another drone strike on the facility.

"A kamikaze drone was shot down over the plant today. It fell on the roof of the sixth power unit," the administration of the station said on Telegram.

The statement emphasized that despite calls from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to stop shelling, drone attacks continue to pose a threat to the safety of the nuclear power plant and increase the risks of a nuclear catastrophe.

1313 GMT –– Russia claims link between perpetrators of concert hall attack and Ukraine's intelligence

Russia has claimed that investigators working on the March 22 terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall in the Moscow region obtained evidence about the involvement of Ukraine's intelligence in the affair.

The Investigative Committee said in a statement that the information allows it to speak about Ukraine's involvement in preparation for the attack.

"Investigators have already received significant data on the circumstances of the preparation of terrorists for a crime, which may testify for their connection with the Ukrainian special services," it said.

0915 GMT –– Ukraine denies attacking Russian-held nuclear plant

Ukraine accused Moscow of spreading "fake" information after Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone had hit the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The head of Ukraine's centre for countering disinformation, Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko, said Russia was intensifying a "campaign of provocation and fakes" after it claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked the plant on Sunday.

Russia is attacking the station "with drones, pretending that the threat to the plant and nuclear safety is coming from Ukraine," Kovalenko said.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, Europe's largest such facility, has been occupied by Russian forces since the start of their February 2022 offensive.

1025 GMT –– UK Foreign Secretary to urge US speaker to back help for Ukraine

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is expected to urge US lawmakers to approve a new package of aid for Ukraine when he visits Washington this week, warning Congress that it is putting the security of the West at risk by continuing to hold up the funding.

The trip is a chance for Cameron to personally deliver the message he posted on social media last week in which he called on Western leaders to put pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans in Congress to approve additional aid for Ukraine, as Britain and the European Union have already done.

“Speaker Johnson can make it happen in Congress,” Cameron said in a video posted on social media platform X. “I’m going to go and see him next week and say, ‘Ukraine needs that money. It is American security, it’s European security, it’s Britain’s security that’s on the line in Ukraine, and they need our help.’”

0545 GMT –– Air polluted after Russia's attack on Zhytomyr region, Ukraine says

The Zvyahel city council in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region urged people early on Monday to stay indoors after Russia's air attack on an infrastructure object resulted in air pollution.

"Russia struck an infrastructure object of the community overnight," the city council said on the Telegram messaging app.

"There are no casualties among the civilian population. Currently, there is a direct threat of air pollution, so it is recommended to stay indoors with closed windows."

0537 GMT –– Russian strikes on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region kill three: governor

Russian strikes on Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region killed three people, in a second day of deadly attacks on the area, its governor said.

The strike on the rural area came a day after three people were killed in a Russian attack on the town of Gulyaipole.

"Three people were killed and three people were wounded in the Pologivskyi district" of Zaporizhzhia, Governor Ivan Federov said on social media.

He said Russian forces struck eight populated areas in Zaporizhzhia "357 times" over the last 24 hours.

Russia controls part of the Zaporizhzhia region and on Sunday it claimed that Kiev had attacked the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with a drone.

0431 GMT — Russia launches 24 attack drones overnight: Ukraine

Russia has launched two dozen attack drones on Ukraine overnight, targeting chiefly critical infrastructure in the country's south and east, Ukraine's air force said.

The air force destroyed 17 of the Iranian-produced Shahed drones Russia used in its attack, over the regions of Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr, it said on the Telegram messaging app.

A Russia-launched Kh-59 guided air missile was destroyed over the Dnipropetrovsk region, it added.

Four drones were destroyed over the southern region of Odessa, said Oleh Kiper, the regional governor.

"A logistics and transport facility was damaged," Kiper added on Telegram. "A gas station was also damaged by the wreckage of a downed Shahed."

There were no casualties in the attack, he added.

0249 GMT — Russia's foreign minister arrives in China to talk Ukraine

Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov has arrived in China, the Russian foreign ministry said, for what Moscow had said was talks on the war in Ukraine, bilateral ties and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lavrov will talk with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on a series of "hot topics" that will also include joint cooperation in international organisations, such as the United Nations and the Group of 20 (G20), Moscow said earlier.

Hit with sanctions that closed access to Western markets and finances after sending its troops to Ukraine, Russia has since become China's fastest-growing trade partner.

For our live updates from Sunday, April 7, click here.