Zelenskyy said Russian shelling was preventing restoration of a power line needed to cool the reactors and prevent a meltdown. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, said it was working with both sides to restore the external power line. Rafael Grossi said there was no immediate danger as long as diesel generators remained in operation, providing emergency power for the facility.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had launched more than 3,500 drones and nearly 190 missiles against Ukraine so far in September, describing the onslaught as an aerial terror operation. Russian forces carried out a large attack on Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing a 41-year-old man, injuring at least 18 people and triggering several fires, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
A coalition of civil society groups is warning of the dangers of cutting safety regulations as the government pushes to rip up the rules to accelerate the construction of new nuclear power stations. The 25 groups from communities neighbouring nuclear sites have submitted a joint response to a consultation by the nuclear regulatory taskforce, saying its proposals lack both credibility and rigour. They argue that the plans to relax regulations only serve to undermine confidence in regulators and the UK's nuclear regulatory regime.
Critics warn that the United States may soon be taking on more nuclear safety risks after Donald Trump fired one of five members of an independent commission that monitors the country's nuclear reactors.
Faced with unrelenting Russian aggression and the simultaneous withdrawal of American military and diplomatic support, European countries across the continent are reinvesting in defence.
