Live: Kyiv fears Russia may target more nuclear plants as Zaporizhzhia talks drag on

Issued on: 17/01/2023 – 10:00

9:25am: Russian defence minister visits troops involved in Ukraine offensive

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected a military headquarters in Ukraine, his office said, without specifying the base’s whereabouts. 

At the headquarters of Russia’s Vostok (East) group in an unnamed location, Shoigu was briefed by its commander and heard from commanders of other formations “on the progress of combat mission”, the ministry said in a statement. 

A video released by the ministry with the statement showed Shoigu holding a meeting with military commanders in person and via video-link. Among those taking part in the video call was Russia’s Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who was recently put in charge of Moscow’s forces in Ukraine. 

>> Read more: Putin’s army chief handed ‘poisoned chalice’ amid Russian power tussle

The video also showed Shoigu handing out awards to servicemen. 

8:30am: Tanks for Ukraine to top agenda of new German defence minister

The first item on the agenda of Germany’s next defence minister will be whether to deliver main battle tanks to Ukraine, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has told Deutschlandfunk radio broadcaster, commenting on the resignation of his cabinet colleague Christine Lambrecht, who quit as defence minister on Monday.

Britain’s offer to send more than a dozen Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine has increased pressure on Germany to do likewise with its coveted Leopard 2 battle tanks. Lambrecht’s resignation, just days before a critical meeting at the US Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, has raised questions over whether Berlin will give the green light for battle tank exports to Ukraine.

Click here for more analysis from FRANCE 24’s Leela Jacinto.

7:45am: ‘Kyiv is concerned Russia might try to seize another nuclear plant’

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog is in Ukraine this week for talks on setting up a safe zone around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine.

FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg reports from the capital, Kyiv, where security at the country’s other nuclear plants remains a major concern.

03:13

5:55am: UN watchdog optimistic about Ukraine nuclear plant protection

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has said he hopes to make progress on a safe zone deal around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine, but stressed it was a tough negotiation.

Russian forces in March captured the Soviet-era plant, Europe’s largest, soon after their invasion of Ukraine. It has repeatedly come under fire in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear disaster.

“The situation around the plant continues to be very, very dangerous,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters during a visit to Ukraine. “A nuclear accident, an accident with serious radiological consequences, is in nobody’s interest.”

Russia downplayed the IAEA’s visit and its powers.

5:05am: Russian flags banned at Australian Open tennis after Ukraine complaint

Russian and Belarusian flags have been banned from the Melbourne Park precinct during the Australian Open after a complaint from the Ukraine ambassador to the country.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, posted a picture showing a Russian flag hanging from a bush beside the court where his compatriot Kateryna Baindl was playing her first-round match on Monday.

“I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during the game of the Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl at the Australian Open today,” he wrote on Twitter. “I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its ‘neutral flag’ policy.”

Tennis Australia responded on Tuesday by banning the flags of the two countries.

“Flags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open,” Tennis Australia said in a statement. “Our initial policy was that fans could bring them in but could not use them to cause disruption. Yesterday we had an incident where a flag was placed courtside (…). The ban is effective immediately.”

10:30pm: Zelensky says decision-making on Ukraine arms supplies needs to speed up

The deadly attack on an apartment building in the central city of Dnipro shows the need for faster and better coordinated decisions on supplying arms for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address Monday.

“What happened in Dnipro, the fact that Russia is preparing new attempts to seize the initiative in the war, the fact that the nature of military action at the front requires new decisions on arms supplies – only underscores how important it is to coordinate all the efforts of the coalition defending Ukraine and freedom,” Zelensky said. “And to speed up decision-making.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)