UKRAINE. The Zaporizhia plant crystallizes the tensions of the war in Ukraine and the West calls for “restraint” to preserve the site and avoid a nuclear accident. Maps, balance sheet and the latest information on the conflict.
War is still raging in Ukraine and escalating near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. In the hands of the Russian army, the largest nuclear site in Europe focuses the concerns of the international community as several bombings targeted a reactor and other buildings on the site in August 2022. Moscow and kyiv accuse each other of t be at the origin of the attacks but more than denouncing a culprit, the West wishes to put an end to the strikes. On Sunday August 21, the French, American, German and British Heads of State thus called with a common voice for the “restraint” near the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant in addition to demanding the “rapid” dispatch of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on site.
The Zaporijjia plant, a highly sensitive area in the war in Ukraine, was also the subject of a discussion between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Poutine on August 19. Three months after their last exchange, the Heads of State agreed on the risks caused by the bombardments of the power station. According to the Elysée, the master of the Kremlin accepted a visit from the IAEA but the story differs on the Russian side. “The Russian side has confirmed that it is ready to provide the IAEA inspectors with the necessary assistance”, reads the Moscow press release published after the diplomatic exchange, a sign that the arrival of the inspectors is not yet planned by Russia. In addition to the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant where the Russian occupation “constitutes a serious threat to its security and increases the risk of accident or nuclear incident” according to NATO, another highly strategic and symbolic site is becoming central to the war in Ukraine: Crimea. And this time, the threat comes from kyiv which, after launching strikes on the peninsula, threatened on August 17 to attack the Kretch bridge which connects Russia to the territory annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Six months of war in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine sparked by the invasion of the Eastern European country by Vladimir Putin’s troops drags on and the goals of Moscow’s “special military operation” meant to “denazify” Ukraine are still blurred. Six months after the start of the fighting, the pressure has not subsided and the bombardments are still legion in a country which received the support of the whole world (or almost) when its aggressor saw himself being sanctioned at various levels by the main countries of the world. Regardless, the fighting continues. Their typology has however evolved and after having multiplied the bombardments in various places of the country, Russia concentrated its efforts in the east and the south of the country where it took control of several regions but also of the nuclear power plant of Zaporijjia and of all accesses to the sea, highly strategic places. Russian and Ukrainian troops continue the offensives while the already dramatic human toll continues to increase. The war also has consequences on a global scale, especially from a financial point of view. News, map and assessment… Here are the keys to follow the war in Ukraine from day to day.
The Zaporijjia power plant at the heart of the war in Ukraine?
Ten days after the start of the war in Ukraine, on May 4, 2022, the Russian army seized the Zaporizhia power plant in the south-east of the country. This takeover is not insignificant since since Russia has taken control of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, posing a direct threat to Ukraine and the West. Several strikes grazed the site and neighboring towns, but tensions reignited in August when several bombardments hit a radioactive storage building and caused the automatic shutdown of one of the six reactors. Moscow and kyiv accuse each other of being behind the strikes. Still, in the eyes of the international community Russia is primarily responsible for the dangerousness of the site, the IAEA explaining that since the takeover no information on the activity of the site is available. The UN and the director general of the Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, asked following the strikes to send an inspection mission on site “as soon as possible”. A call for “restraint” reiterated by the French and American presidents, the German chancellor and the British Prime Minister on August 21. But the organization is still waiting to be able to go there.
The Ukrainian president adopts an alarmist tone to describe the situation in Zaporijjia comparing the plant to a “ticking time bomb” and a threat to Europe as long as it is in Russian hands. The IAEA pleads for an agreement to be found between Moscow and kyiv and to allow the arrival of experts from the agency. “The situation at the nuclear power plant is alarming,” he tweeted. “Military actions jeopardize nuclear safety and security. They must stop immediately. An AEIA mission would allow us to carry out the necessary technical activities and exert a stabilizing influence,” he added.
Crimea, a new front in the war in Ukraine?
The Crimean peninsula had until then been rather spared from the war in Ukraine, but fire was opened in August 2022. Several Russian military sites were targeted at the beginning of the month by Ukrainian attacks. A strategy with which kyiv has struck hard, proving its ability to launch larger assaults and on distant front lines but also showing Ukraine’s desire to recover Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014. An annexation that did not has never been recognized by Ukraine or the international community.
The Russian-Ukrainian war began with the invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the peninsula could also be the conclusion of the conflict which resumed on February 24, 2022. “The world is starting to understand that it was wrong in 2014 by deciding not to respond with all his might to Russia’s first aggressive actions. The war in Ukraine began with Crimea and must end with its liberation”, chanted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 9 only a few hours after the attacks in Crimea before adding: “Crimea is Ukrainian and we will never give it up”.
News about the war in Ukraine
For six months, Ukraine has therefore been at war with Russia. An invasion which has direct consequences on the country, both on the loss of control of certain territories and on a particularly heavy human toll. While the borders of Ukraine are in the process of being redrawn by Russia, the return of war to the gates of the European Union has led to major upheavals as far away as France and even throughout the world, both in both geopolitically and financially. The repercussions on food and energy prices were not long in coming, while various international sanctions were taken. Discover below the latest news related to the war in Ukraine.
Map of the war in Ukraine
In five months of war, Russia has gained ground in Ukraine. It took control of several territories, in the east of the country, extending its hold in the oblasts of Luhansk and Donetsk (orange) -already partly won over to the Russian cause-, as well as in the north of these two regions, near Kharkiv (red zone), but also in the south of the country, on the shores of the Sea of Azov, as well as on part of the Black Sea coast (red zone). It is on these sectors that Vladimir Putin’s army really concentrates its efforts, as evidenced by the map updated daily by Project Owl.
Who says war says information war. Inevitably, between Ukraine and Russia, the versions of the facts occurring on the ground diverge. Propaganda is going well, both on the side of kyiv and Moscow. In the middle of all this, how to find your way around? On social networks, two former soldiers regularly follow the evolution of the conflict. First of all, Michel Goya, ex-colonel of the marine troops become specialist in the analysis of the wars. Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, he has commented on and documented the fighting on his Twitter account, he who has also become a consultant for BFM-TV.
In addition, Cédric Mas, president of the Action Resilience Institute, also follows the progress of the war in Ukraine from day to day. Its maps and various images, embellished with detailed commentaries, provide a better understanding of the evolution of the conflict.
Why did Vladimir Putin decide to launch a “military operation” in Ukraine? The Russian invasion attempt is the result of long months of tension between Russia and its neighbor. A look back at the distant origins and immediate causes of the war in our dedicated article below.
The toll of the war in Ukraine is growing day by day. However, it is difficult to establish a precise one on a daily basis. Only the United Nations attempts to regularly update the number of people killed and injured in the fighting. Each week, the organization takes stock of civilian casualties in the country.
According to the latest published figures, as of Sunday July 24, 2022, 5,237 civilians have died since the war broke out. Of which, 4,889 are adults and 348 children. In addition, at least 7,035 people were injured. A balance sheet that lacks precision, however, as recognized by the UN itself: “the actual figures are considerably higher, because the reception of information from certain places where intense hostilities took place has been delayed and numerous reports are still awaiting confirmation.
On the side of the military record, neither Ukraine nor Russia publicly reveal the figures of the losses.