A new catastrophe has been avoided. The Zaporijia nuclear power plant, in the occupied zone in southern Ukraine, was “disconnected” temporarily, Thursday, August 25, from the Ukrainian network, according to kyiv. The United States warns Russia against a diversion of the energy produced, which would be “unacceptable”. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin is beefing up his game on the ground, signing a decree on the same day ordering a 10% increase in the number of soldiers in the army.
- Putin increases his numbers in the Russian army
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday ordering a 10% increase (137,000 more soldiers) in the number of soldiers in the army, in the midst of an offensive against Ukraine and against a backdrop of growing tensions. with Western countries.
“To give an order of magnitude, this increase corresponds roughly to the number of conscripts called up annually. This is a fairly ambitious objective, even in a situation where support for the war is important and the soldiers are well paid” , details on Twitter Anna Colin Lebedev, sociologist specializing in post-Soviet societies.
The specialist indicates that it is possible to envisage “stronger pressure on conscription, which is the first breeding ground for the recruitment of soldiers under contract”, which should be accompanied by “violations of the rights of conscripts”.
- Zaporizhia power plant still disconnected from the grid
The Zaporijia nuclear power plant, in the occupied zone in southern Ukraine, is still disconnected from the network. The six reactors of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant are still disconnected from the Ukrainian electricity grid, which they cannot supply, the public company Energoatom informed on Friday. The electricity supply to the site, controlled by the Russian army, is however provided by an electric cable connected to the Ukrainian network, she added.
At the center of all concerns due to bombings of which both Russians and Ukrainians accuse each other, the Zaporizhia power plant was “totally disconnected” from the network after damage to the power lines caused by fires, announced the company of Ukrainian State Energoatom. She specified that the nuclear facilities remained supplied by the neighboring thermal power station.
“Russia has put the Ukrainians, like all Europeans, on the brink of a nuclear disaster,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the evening. The IAEA said it was “informed by Ukraine” of this loss of connection. “But (the plant) is currently in operation”, she underlined, confirming that it “remains connected” from “the neighboring thermal plant which can provide emergency electricity”.
- Macron will receive the Polish Prime Minister to talk about Ukraine
Emmanuel Macron will receive Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Monday to discuss support for Ukraine against Russia and the consequences of the conflict for Europeans, the Elysée announced on Thursday. Beyond the war in Ukraine, the two leaders “will exchange on the challenges of European sovereignty in terms of defense and security, as well as on cooperation for the full security of the eastern flank of Europe”, specified the presidency.
The visit of the populist nationalist Prime Minister, who had already come in March 2021, comes after a period of tension between Paris and Warsaw. In early April, the French ambassador to Poland was summoned following remarks by Emmanuel Macron accusing Mateusz Morawiecki of “extreme right-wing anti-Semitism” and of “interfering in the French political campaign” by pointing out his proximity with Marine Le Pen, her rival in the presidential election.
- Blocked bank accounts: Russians living in France file a complaint for discrimination
More than 70 people, mostly Russian or with Slavic names, have filed a complaint in Paris for discrimination, denouncing the blockings qualified as abusive of their accounts by certain French banks since the start of the war in Ukraine, their lawyers said on Thursday. The 76 signatories of the complaint against X filed on Monday, consulted by AFP and revealed by Le Figaroare mainly Russian nationals living in France or French people of Russian origin or with Slavic-sounding names, clients of major French banking establishments or online banks.
“The banking restrictions taken against them” are “the simple result of their true (or sometimes only supposed) belonging to the Russian nation”, one can read in the complaint. This specifies that they are “not part of the ‘black’ list of Russian personalities or those close to Vladimir Putin who fall under the sanctions” of the European Union, such as the freezing of assets.