Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met in Lviv, western Ukraine. Russian strikes continue to cause deaths in both northern and southern Ukraine, and an ammunition depot catches fire in Russia. Franceinfo looks back on the highlights of the day on the war front in Ukraine.
Damaging the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant would be a “suicide”, according to Antonio Guterres
“We have to tell it like it is: any potential damage to Zaporizhia would be suicide”, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said during his meeting with Turkish and Ukrainian leaders in Lviv. The manager said to himself again “seriously concerned” by the situation in the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, occupied by Russian troops and that Moscow and kyiv accuse each other of targeting.
“An agreement is urgently needed to restore Zaporizhia as a purely civilian infrastructure and to ensure the security of the region”claimed Antonio Guterres, who called for no longer using the plant “for any military operation whatsoever”. Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that “the UN [devait] therefore ensure the security of this strategic site, its demilitarization and its complete liberation from Russian troops”to curb the “deliberate terror” provoked by Russia “may have major catastrophic consequences for the whole world”.
The Turkish president reiterates that he is “on the side of our Ukrainian friends”
“As we continue our efforts for a solution, we have been and continue to be on the side of our Ukrainian friends”, said Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the meeting in Lviv. Volodymyr Zelensky greeted a “powerful message of support” from the Turkish president, who also expressed concern of the risk of a “New Chernobyl” because of the strikes around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Turkey quickly condemned the Russian offensive, but refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow, preferring neutrality.
kyiv refuses to negotiate with Moscow as long as Russian troops are present in the country
“People who kill, rape, hit our civilian cities with cruise missiles every day cannot want peace,” Volodymyr Zelensky told a press conference in Lviv. “They should leave our territory first, then we’ll see”added the president, saying “don’t trust Russia”.
Strikes on Kharkiv and its region leave six dead
Five people were killed and 20 were injured in Russian strikes that hit Kharkiv and another nearby town in northeastern Ukraine, regional authorities said. “Around 04:30 (01:30 GMT), the enemy launched eight missiles from the city of Belgorod (in Russia) towards Kharkiv”, reported on Telegram the governor of the region, Oleg Sinegoubov. Several residential buildings were destroyed.
The day before, the second largest city in the country had already suffered strikes that left 13 dead. A bombardment on Mykolaiv, in the south, also killed one and injured two, according to the mayor.
Fire breaks out at an ammunition depot in Russia
“An ammunition depot caught fire near the village of Timonovo” in the Russian province of Belgorod, less than 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, the region’s governor said in a statement. Two Russian villages were evacuated because of the fire, authorities said. The blaze comes days after explosions at a military base and an ammunition depot in Crimea, the latter of which was described by Russia as an act of “sabotage”.
New grain ship leaves Ukraine
“The cargo ship I MARIA left the port of Chornomorsk, 33,000 tons of corn were loaded on board. The cargo ship is on its way to North Africa, it will arrive in Egypt in a few days”, the port authorities said on Facebook. A total of 25 ships carrying Ukrainian products have left the ports of Odessa, Pivdenny and Chornomorsk (southern Ukraine) since the signing of an agreement with the United Nations and Turkey which made it possible to lift the blockade of Russia. Antonio Guterres promised to“intensify” Ukrainian grain exports before the onset of winter, to reduce the risk of a global food crisis.