Ukraine claws back some lost territory
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces on Friday claimed new success in their counteroffensive against Russian forces in the country’s east, taking control of a sizable village and pushing toward an important transport junction. The United States’ top diplomat and the head of NATO noted the advances, but cautioned that the war is likely to drag on for months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commended the military for its gains in the east, saying in a nightly video address that Ukrainian troops have reclaimed more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region since the start of the counteroffensive there this week.
“We are gradually taking control over more settlements, returning the Ukrainian flag and protection for our people,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine’s military said it also launched new attacks on Russian pontoon bridges across the Dnieper River to Kherson, one of the largest Russian-occupied cities, and the adjacent region. Ukrainian artillery and rocket strikes have left all regular bridges across the river unusable, the military’s southern command said.
But anxiety increased about Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which was operating in emergency mode Friday for the fifth straight day. That prompted the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog to call for the establishment of an immediate safety zone around the plant to prevent a nuclear accident.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant came under the control of Russian forces early in the war but is being operated by Ukrainian staff. The plant and surrounding areas have been repeatedly hit by shelling that Russia and Ukraine blame on each other. The last power line connecting the plant to the Ukrainian electricity grid was cut Monday. It is receiving power for its own safety systems from the only reactor that remains operational.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said it took control of Volokhiv Yar in the Kharkiv region and aimed to advance toward Kupiansk, which would cut off Russian forces from key supply routes.
Pro-Russian authorities in the Kupiansk district announced that civilians were being evacuated toward the Russian-held region of Luhansk.
“The initial signs are positive and we see Ukraine making real, demonstrable progress in a deliberate way,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Brussels, a day after visiting Kyiv.
“But this is likely to go on for some significant period
of time,” he said, adding that “President (Vladimir) Putin has demonstrated that he will throw a lot of people into this at huge cost to Russia.”
The gains “are modest and only the first successes of the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army, but they are important both in terms of seizing the military initiative and raising the spirit of Ukrainian soldiers,” Mykola Sunhurovskyi, a military analyst at the Razumkov Center in Kyiv, told The Associated Press.
Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear operator, said Friday that repairs to outside electric lines at the Zaporizhzhia plant are impossible
because of the shelling and that operating the plant in what is called an “island” status carries “the risk of violating radiation and fire safety standards.”
“Only the withdrawal of the Russians from the plant and the creation of a security zone around it can normalize the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Only then will the world be able to exhale,” Petro Kotin, the head of Energoatom, told Ukrainian TV.
Earlier, Kotin said the plant’s only operating reactor “can be stopped completely” at any moment and the only power source would be a diesel generator. There
are 20 generators on site and enough diesel fuel for 10 days. After that, about 200 tons of diesel fuel would be needed daily for the generators. He said that would be “impossible” to get with the plant occupied by Russian forces.
Rafael Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Friday that there was little likelihood of reestablishing reliable offsite power lines to the plant.
“This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious,” Grossi said, calling for the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection
zone.
Ukraine this week claimed to have regained control of settlements in the Kharkiv region, including the small city of Balakliya. Social media posts showed weeping, smiling Balakliya residents embracing Ukrainian soldiers.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday refused to comment on the alleged retaking of Balakliya, redirecting all such questions to the Russian Defense Ministry.
But Vitaly Ganchev, the Russian-installed official in the Kharkiv region, confirmed Friday that “Balakliya, in effect, is not under our control.”