Russia urged to withdraw forces from Ukrainian nuclear power plant; Putin turns to North Korea for friendship – CNBC

Russian minister of defense holds call with U.N. Secretary General

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres conducts a press briefing on the launch of the 3rd brief by the GCRG (Global Crisis Response Group) on Food, Energy and Finance at UN Headquarters.

Lev Radin | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Russia's Minister of Defense said he spoke with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Russia's Sergei Shoigu discussed the safe operation of the facility and gave an update on events taking place on the ground, according to a Kremlin statement posted on the Telegram messaging app.

The two also discussed the U.N. initiative to facilitate the export of Russian fertilizers as well as Ukrainian agriculture products.

Amanda Macias

A Russian serviceman patrols the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Energodar on May 1, 2022. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, seized by Russian forces in March, is in southeastern Ukraine and is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world.

Andrey Borodulin | Afp | Getty Images

The spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General denied Russian claims that U.N. officials were canceling or blocking visits from the International Atomic Energy Agency to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

"First, the IAEA is a specialized agency that acts in full independence in deciding how to implement its specific mandate. Second, the U.N. Secretariat has no authority to block or cancel any IAEA activities," wrote U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stphane Dujarric in a statement.

Dujarric added that the U.N. supports a potential IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, should both Russia and Ukraine agree.

Amanda Macias

Ukrainian evacuees react in a bus while they drive on a road east of Kharkiv on May 30, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Genya Savilov | AFP | Getty Images

A Ukrainian official said Russian forces are currently carrying out reverse deportations of Ukrainian citizens.

Ukrainians who have been earlier forcibly taken away from Mariupol to Russia are now being returned from Pskov, Russia back to Mariupol, according to Petro Andryushchenko, who serves as an advisor to Mariupol's mayor.

Andryushchenko said on the messaging app Telegram that the groups of Ukrainian deportees have become a headache for local authorities.

Amanda Macias

Soldiers who were among several hundred that took up positions around a Ukrainian military base stand near the base's periphery in Crimea on March 2, 2014 in Perevalne, Ukraine.

Sean Gallup | Getty Images

The British military said in an intelligence update that Russian forces may not be able to occupy all of Donetsk in Ukraine.

"The Kremlin will likely see the military's failure to occupy the entirety of Donetsk Oblast thus far as a setback for its maximalist objectives in Ukraine," the British Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement on Twitter.

Russia has focused most of its hostilities in Ukraine's easternmost regions, including the area surrounding the city of Donetsk.

Amanda Macias

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses the assembly during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on May 26, 2022.

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would not back several fellow European countries that have called for an EU-wide move to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens.

The nations backing such a ban say that Russians should not be able to take vacations in Europe while Moscow wages war in Ukraine. Finland and Denmark want an EU decision and some EU countries bordering Russia already no longer issue visas to Russians.

"This is not the war of the Russian people. It is (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war and we have to be very clear on that topic," Scholz said.

"It is important to us to understand that there are a lot of people fleeing from Russia because they are disagreeing with the Russian regime," he told a press conference on the sidelines of a one-day meeting of the five Nordic leaders in Oslo to which the German chancellor was invited.

Associated Press

Maria Pshenychnykh, 83, sits in the kitchen of her war-damaged home near Kharkiv on May 18, 2022 in Vilkhivka, Ukraine, which had until recently been occupied by Russian forces. Seniors in the city have been relying on humanitarian aid, as their monthly government pension payments were suspended due to the fighting. In recent weeks Ukrainian forces have advanced towards the Russian border after Russia's offensive on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city stalled.

John Moore | Getty Images

Russia's war in Ukraine has left 17.7 million people in serious need of humanitarian aid, according to United Nations estimates.

"Millions of people across the country have endured months of intense hostilities without adequate access to food, water, health care, education, protection and other essential services," the group wrote in a report. "Massive destruction of civilian infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without their homes or livelihoods."

The U.N. warned that more people will be affected by the upcoming winter season.

"Too many are now living in damaged homes or in buildings ill-suited to provide protection for the upcoming harsh cold season, where the sub-zero temperatures could be life-threatening," the U.N. said.

The U.N. estimates that since Russia's war in Ukraine began more than five months ago, humanitarian organizations have scaled up operations in order to reach 11.7 million people.

Amanda Macias

A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Aug. 4, 2022.

Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantis operating with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety standards, according to an update from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office.

Russian forces took control of the facility in March, a few days after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

"Ukraine calls on the world community to take urgent measures to force Russia to give back control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for the sake of the security of the whole world," the statement added.

Amanda Macias

Ukrainian soldier Igor Ryazantsev with the Dnipro-1 regiment keeps watch outside his tent during a period of relative calm around their position near Sloviansk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Members of the unit believe a Russian advance could be impending with the aim of seizing the strategic city.

David Goldman | AP Photo

The Ukrainian government extended its martial law for another 90 days as Russia's war marches into its sixth month.

Martial law is declared in an emergency and temporarily replaces civilian rule with military authority. The Ukrainian government will reassess if martial law needs to be extended again on November 21, according to an update posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Amanda Macias

Volunteers lower into a grave a coffin with one of fourteen unidentified persons killed by Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, during a burial ceremony in the town of Bucha, in Kyiv region, Ukraine August 9, 2022.

Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters

The United Nations has confirmed civilian 5,514 deaths and 7,698 injuries in Ukraine since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, because the armed conflict can delay fatality reports.

The international organization said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes.

Amanda Macias

Volunteers help to bring food rations to a food aid distribution center, managed by different NGOs and called "Everything is going to be allright", in the city center of Kramatorsk on July 11, 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Miguel Medina | AFP | Getty Images

The World Food Program estimates that 20% of Ukrainians have insufficient food due to Russia's invasion.

"The situation is particularly concerning in the eastern and southern parts of the country, where one in every two families is facing challenges in putting food on their table," the World Food Program wrote in a report.

The group estimates that about 40% of female-headed families in hostile regions are food insecure and need help addressing specific dietary needs, especially those who are pregnant and breastfeeding.

"People with chronic illnesses or disabilities are also facing increasing challenges," the World Food Program wrote.

Amanda Macias

Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing on "Department of Defense's Budget Requests for FY2023", on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2022.

Sarah Silbiger | Reuters

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Armed Forces Gen. Valery Zaluzhny over the weekend.

"They discussed the unprovoked and ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and exchanged perspectives and assessments. The chairman once again reaffirmed unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to a Pentagon readout of the call.

Milley last spoke with Zaluzhny on Thursday, the third call between the two leaders this month.

Amanda Macias

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attend a wreath-laying ceremony, which marks the anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in 1941, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia June 22, 2022.

Mikhail Metzel | Sputnik | Reuters

President Vladimir Putin claimed Russia's weaponry is potentially decades ahead of its foreign counterparts.

"Promising models and systems that are future-oriented and will determine the future of the armed forces are of particular interest," he said. Putin was speaking at the opening of the "Army 2022" international military-technical forum on Monday.

"We are talking about high-precision weapons and robotics, about combat systems based on new physical principles," Putin said, according to Russian state news agency Interfax. "Many of them are years, maybe decades ahead of their foreign counterparts, and in terms of tactical and technical characteristics they are significantly superior."

Speaking at the opening of the forum, Putin said Russia was ready to share its weapons technology with its allies.

"Russia sincerely values historically strong, friendly, truly trusting ties with the states of Latin America, Asia, and Africa, and is ready to offer its partners and allies the most modern types of weapons - from small arms to armored vehicles and artillery, combat aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles," the president said.

Commenting on the increasingly polarized nature of global geopolitics, particularly amid Russia's war in Ukraine, Putin said Russia appreciated "that today our country has many allies, partners, like-minded people on different continents."

These are states that, he said, "do not bend before the so-called hegemon, their leaders show real masculine character and do not bend."

Holly Ellyatt

Ukrainian bomb disposal workers carry unexploded ordnance during mine clearance work in the village of Yahidne, in the liberated territories of the Chernihiv region on June 7, 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sergei Supinsky | AFP | Getty Images

Russian forces have launched a massive shelling campaign against the Novhorod-Siverskyi community in the Chernihiv region in northeastern Ukraine which borders Russia, according to a Ukrainian official.

VyacheslavChaus, the head of Chernihiv's Regional Military Administration, commented on Telegram this morning that since 8am local time, "there have been more than 70 explosions" that he said were likely caused by enemy artillery on the outskirts of a village, Kamyanska Sloboda, before another village was targeted, with almost 60 explosions reported.

Civilian buildings have been damaged, he said but so far there had been no casualties. Chernihiv and the surrounding region was the scene of intense fighting at the start of Russia's invasion in February and March but the epicenter of the fighting quickly shifted to the east and south of Ukraine.

Holly Ellyatt

US' Women's National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, waits for the verdict inside a defendants' cage before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, on August 4, 2022.

Evgenia Novozhenina | AFP | Getty Images

The defense team of BrittneyGriner, the U.S. basketball star jailed for nine years in Russiaon drugs charges, has appealed against her conviction fornarcotics possession and trafficking, Griner's lawyer MariaBlagovolina told Reuters on Monday.

Griner, who had played for a Russian club, was arrested at aMoscow airport on Feb. 17 after cannabis-infused vape cartridgeswere found in her luggage.

She pleaded guilty to the charges but said she had made an"honest mistake" by entering Russia with cannabis oil, which isillegal in the country. She was convicted on Aug. 4.

The U.S. government says Griner was wrongfully detained. Ithas offered to exchange her for Viktor Bout, a Russian armsdealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.

Reuters

A DPR army fighter is seen in front of the tank as Russian attacks continue in Mariupol, Ukraine on May 04, 2022.

Leon Klein | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Russia is likely to be at the "advanced planning" stage for a referendum to be held in the pro-Russian "Donetsk People's Republic" in Ukraine on whether to become a part of the Russia.

It's been widely reported and presumed by Western officials and experts that Russia would seek to try to bring the breakaway region (and its neighboring self-proclaimed "People's Republic" in Luhansk, also in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine) into the Russian Federation at some point.

Russia has used the "defense" of these separatist regions, which it has supported since 2014 and made various attempts to "Russify," such as the handing out of Russian passports, as an excuse for invading Ukraine. Moscow has said that the "liberation" of these territories in the Donbas is its main aim of the war and its forces occupy much of Donetsk and are trying to push into Luhansk.

The U.K.'s Ministry of Defence said Monday that "it is likely that Russia is in the advanced planning stages to hold a referendum, though it is unclear if the final decision to go ahead with a vote has yet been taken."

It noted that on Aug.11, Russian media reported that Denis Pushilin, head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), had said that the date of a referendum on the DPR joining Russia would be announced after the DPR's "complete liberation."

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Russia urged to withdraw forces from Ukrainian nuclear power plant; Putin turns to North Korea for friendship - CNBC