Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv breaks through Putin’s defences in ‘surprise raid’ across Dnipro River

Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant again lost connection to its last remaining main external power line overnight and was switched to a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said on Thursday.

Energoatom said Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was on the verge of a blackout as the reserve line had less than half the power capacity of the main power line.

“Such a regime is difficult for the reactor plant, its duration is limited by the project’s design and it can result in failure of the main equipment of the energy unit,” Energoatom said on Telegram.

The Zaporizhzhia plant with its six reactors has been controlled by the Russian military since the early days of Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.

It has become one of the focal points of the conflict, with both sides blaming each other for shelling around the site. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been trying to set up a safety mechanism to prevent accidents.

None of the plant’s six reactors produce electricity.

Separately, the station’s Russian-installed administration said the Number 4 reactor had been moved from a “hot” to a “cold” shutdown because of signs of a steam leak.

One of the six reactors needs to be in “hot shutdown” to produce steam for the plant’s own needs.

“Plant personnel found signs of leaks in the pipe section of steam generator No. 3,” the administration said on Telegram. “To meet the steam auxiliary needs of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the transfer of power unit No. 6 to a ‘hot shutdown’ state is being considered.”

The co-founder of Russian internet giant Yandex, Arkady Volozh, on Thursday condemned what he described as Russia’s “barbaric” invasion of Ukraine, days after criticism in Russia over his apparent efforts to distance himself from the country.

Volozh described himself as a “Kazakhstan-born Israeli tech entrepreneur” on a personal website, drawing some criticism in Russian media and on the Telegram messaging platform for apparently playing down his links to Russia.

He has also been criticised by those opposed to Russia’s actions for not speaking out more forcefully against the war.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Volozh said in a statement. “I am horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine, many of them my personal friends and relatives, whose houses are being bombed every day.

“Although I moved to Israel in 2014, I have to take my share of responsibility for the country’s actions,” wrote Volozh, who holds both Russian and Israeli passports.

Volozh developed Yandex in Russia, creating the country’s largest tech company and ultimately taking it public on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange in 2011.

He stepped down as CEO and left the board of directors after the European Union included him on its list of sanctions against Russian entities and individuals in June 2022. Volozh called the EU’s decision “misguided”.

Yandex is pursuing a corporate restructuring that should ultimately see its main revenue-generating businesses inside Russia spun off from its Dutch-registered parent company, Yandex NV.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yandex has sought to balance domestic pressure on one side with its Western investors on the other.

Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s defensive lines after launching a surprise raid across the Dnipro River.

The river divides liberated Ukrainian territory on one bank and Russian-occupied land on the other, and for months it has served as part of the front line in southern Ukraine.

Russian military bloggers said that up to seven boats, each carrying up to six troops, arrived on the Russian-occupied bank, apparently under the cover of darkness, and advanced 800m. Blogger Trinadtsatyi, posting on the Telegram messaging app to more than 150,000 followers, said a number of Russian soldiers were allegedly killed or taken captive during the raid. Images circulating on social media appeared to show captured soldiers.

My colleague Chris Stevenson reports:

Russian air defense systems on Thursday shot down two drones heading toward Moscow for the second straight day, officials said, with the attack disrupting flights at two international airports as Ukraine appeared to step up its assault on Russian soil.

One drone was downed in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow and another near a major Moscow ring road, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and the Russian Defense Ministry, which blamed the attack on Ukraine.

No casualties or damage were immediately reported.

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

Two young women and a man were killed and nine other people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia late on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

A Reuters reporter at the scene saw emergency workers lifting a body, putting it on a stretcher, and wrapping it into a black body bag. Rescuers sifted through debris and an ambulance was parked near damaged buildings.

“Three people dead and nine people injured including an 11-month baby – this is the result of the strike on the regional centre,” a statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said. “The Russian shell took away the lives of a 43-year-old man and young women who were 19 and 21.”

Officials said two of the people had been killed on the spot and a woman had died overnight at a hospital.

A video posted by Zelensky showed smoke rising from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church.

Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said the church had been destroyed and about 15 high-rise buildings had been damaged. The authorities received requests from residents of at least 400 apartments to repair smashed windows and damaged balconies.

Pictures posted by city officials on the Telegram messaging app showed several buses and a row of foldable tables and chairs set up outside near damaged buildings where residents and city workers were filling in papers to record the damages.

Ukrainian officials have reported a recent increase in the amount of Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia region in the south.

Zelensky’s office said the Russian military over the past 24 hours had conducted 82 strikes on 21 villages and towns across the Zaporizhzhia region, using artillery, missiles and drones.

The Ukrainian military launched an offensive on occupying Russian forces in the key Zaporizhzhia region at the start of the summer and reported steady advances in that direction.

Since Vladimir Putin rose to power as Russia’s president 23 years ago, few things have rocked his leadership as much as Saturday 24 June when Wagner mercenaries barrelled towards Moscow.

The “army within an army” who had been ruthlessly grinding away for months at the vanguard of some of the bloodiest fighting in eastern flanks Ukraine were now on the verge of triggering a war within a war – this time, against the Kremlin.

But the Russian president was spared that when the mutiny was halted in its tracks about 125 miles from the capital, in a deal between the leader of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin – brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin himself was due to head to Belarus – although he has been pictured in Russia since – with an invitation for Wagner fighters to gather in Belarus. Thousands are set to enter the country since.

Russia’s air defence systems shot down two military drones heading towards Moscow on Thursday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Air defence systems shot down two combat drones flying towards the city, Sobyanin said on his official channel in Telegram.

Sobyanin said the drones were shot down around 4 a.m. Moscow time (0100 GMT), one of them near the town of Kaluga, and the second over Central Ring Highway surrounding the Russian capital.

Russia’s Gazprom said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday versus 42.3 million cubic metres a day earlier.

Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant again lost connection to its last remaining main external power line overnight and was switched to a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said on Thursday.

Energoatom said that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was on the verge of a blackout as the reserve line had less than half of the power capacity of the main power line.

“Such a regime is difficult for the reactor plant, its duration is limited by the project’s design and it can result in failure of the main equipment of the energy unit,” Energoatom said on Telegram.

Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant with its six reactors has been controlled by the Russian military since the early days of Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.

The plant has become one of the focal points of the conflict, with both sides blaming each other for shelling around the plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been trying to set up a safety mechanism to prevent accidents.

None of the plant’s six reactors produce electricity.