War in Ukraine: the risk of nuclear disaster in Zaporizhzhia, Kiev asks for ammunition

Europe 1 with AFP 06:59, March 30, 2023

THE ESSENTIALS

A minimum compromise in the face of a growing military risk: the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency visited the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Wednesday in search of a solution acceptable to Kiev and Moscow to secure the site. The idea of a demilitarized zone around this site in southeastern Ukraine occupied since March by the Russians seems to have lived after months of fruitless exchanges.

Rafael Grossi, who spent a few hours there before returning to the territories under Ukrainian control, now wants to work on "principles" capable of minimizing the risk of nuclear "catastrophe". Kiev and Moscow, who have been at war for more than a year, have accused each other of bombing the plant. Russian soldiers stationed at the plant site during Rafael Grossi's visit on Wednesday said they were preparing for a possible Ukrainian attack.

In Ukraine's Donetsk region, fighting has been concentrated in recent months in the city of Bakhmut, with Kiev saying it is resisting in the urban center and exhausting Russian forces. Gen. Mark Milley of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said in Washington that Russia had made "no progress" around Bakhmut in the past three weeks.

For several weeks, speculation has been rife about a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive towards Melitopol, because its capture would cut the land corridor conquered by Russia to connect its territory to Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014.

In order to inflict further defeats on Russia, however, Ukraine is demanding longer-range munitions than the 80 km it had so far for the Himars in order to destroy Russian supply routes. The United States has promised munitions that can reach a target 150 km away and Moscow says these have already been delivered. Kiev has not confirmed this and says it needs many more Western weapons. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov believes in this regard that Americans and Europeans are "fighting de facto" on Kiev's side.

Key information to remember

• International Atomic Energy Agency wants to secure Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
• Ukraine is asking for ammunition with a longer range than the 80 km it had so far.
• A 13-year-old girl wrote a letter to her father, who was jailed for criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Fears over Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Preventing a "takeover by arms": Russian troops deployed at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine say they are preparing for an attack by Kiev, which denies and accuses Moscow of using the site as a "shield". Journalists were able to visit the site on Wednesday on the occasion of the presence of the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, as part of a press visit strictly supervised by the Russian army.

According to Rafael Grossi, the IAEA is seeking an agreement between the two belligerents on several key "principles", including those not to attack this nuclear plant, the largest in Europe, and not to deploy heavy weapons. Ukraine accuses Russia of deploying at least 1,000 troops and equipment to the compound to protect them from bombing, with Kiev planning to carry out a counter-offensive in the southern region.

The question of the consumption of American munitions in case of war

US Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley warned Wednesday that a war between the United States and another major power would result in "extraordinary" ammunition consumption, and that the country must make sure it is ready.

Ukraine and Russia have used huge amounts of artillery ammunition since Moscow invaded its neighbor in February 2022, raising concerns about the stockpile owned by the United States, which itself has supplied a lot of ammunition to Kiev. "The incredible level of ammunition consumption" is a "great lesson" from the conflict in Ukraine, which remains a "limited regional war," Gen. Mark Milley said.

"If there was a war on the Korean Peninsula, or a war of power between the United States and Russia, this consumption would be extraordinary," he added. "We still have work to do to make sure that our (...) stocks are ready" to deal with any situation, Milley said.

A 13-year-old Russian woman's letter to her father convicted of criticizing the war

"Daddy, you are my hero": A 13-year-old Russian schoolgirl sent a letter of support to her father sentenced to prison and on the run for criticizing the offensive in Ukraine. Emblematic of the repression against those who oppose this conflict, the case of Alexei Moskaliov, 54, separated from his daughter Maria, 13, arouses strong emotion in Russia. The case took an incredible turn on Tuesday when a court in Efremov, 300 km south of Moscow, sentenced Alexei Moskaliov to two years in prison for "discrediting" the army, before announcing that he had disappeared while under house arrest.

In a letter made public on Wednesday and whose authenticity was confirmed by the family's lawyer, Vladimir Bilienko, Maria Moskaliova expressed her support for her father. "I love you very much, you are not guilty of anything, I will always be on your side," wrote the girl, who was placed in a home and banned from any telephone contact with her father. "I'm sure everything will be fine and we'll be together again... I know you won't give in, you're strong, we're strong. I will pray for you and for us," she added. The situation of Alexey Moskaliov, considered a fugitive by the authorities, is not known, nor is that of his daughter Maria, whom the family's lawyer was unable to meet.