On the 200th day of the conflict, Ukraine continues its counter-offensive. The kyiv army reported on Sunday, September 11, new advances on the eastern front, claiming a total of “over 3,000 square kilometres” recaptured from the Russian forces in about ten days. Further south, all eyes have turned to the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant, now shut down, which concentrates the concern of the international community because of the clashes in the midst of Russian occupation. Here’s what to remember from the day.
Kyiv is gaining ground in the East
Ukraine on Sunday claimed new territorial gains from Russian forces in the east. In total, “since the beginning of September, more than 3,000 square kilometers have returned to Ukrainian control”said the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army. “Around Kharkiv we started to advance not only south and east, but also north. We are 50 kilometers from the border”he added.
A little earlier, the Ukrainian General Staff had announced that “the liberation of portions of territory in the Kupyansk and Izium districts of the Kharkiv region [était] In progress”. The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, assured that thousands of people had fled the Kharkiv region for Russia.
The map of the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, presented Sunday by the Russian Ministry of Defense during its daily briefing, showed a large withdrawal of the Russian army from this region. According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces resumed in five days “more territory than the Russians have conquered in all their operations since April”.
The last reactor in Zaporizhia shut down
At the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, reactor number 6 was disconnected from the electricity grid before dawn on Sunday and “preparations are underway for its cooling”, according to the Ukrainian operator Energoatom. For three days, this reactor remained the only one to produce the electricity necessary for cooling the nuclear fuel and for the security of the site.
According to Energoatom, the decision to shut it down was taken after the restoration, on Saturday evening, of the site’s external electricity supply with one of the transmission lines.
However, the situation of the plant still remains precarious. “In the event of further damage to the transmission lines connecting the site to the electrical system – the risk of which remains high – the internal needs (of the site) will have to be provided by generators running on diesel”warned Energoatom, renewing its call for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the plant, the only way in his view to ensure its security.
A Macron-Putin exchange on Zaporijjia
French President Emmanuel Macron told Vladimir Putin on Sunday that “the Russian occupation was the cause of the risks” weighing on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhya. During a phone call, he asked her to remove the “heavy and light weapons”according to the Elysee.
Emmanuel Macron “will stay in touch” with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi. He “will speak again” to his Russian counterpart “in the coming days, so that an agreement can be reached guaranteeing the safety of the plant”added the French presidency.
Previously, the Kremlin had indicated that Vladimir Putin had warned Emmanuel Macron of a risk of “catastrophic consequences” because of“regular Ukrainian attacks” against this plant, the largest in Europe, occupied by Russian forces.