Ukraine war: Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns ‘serious threat’ remains at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – as Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine remains a “serious threat”.
Citing Ukrainian intelligence, the country’s president said Russia was “technically ready” to provoke a localised explosion at the facility.
It comes as Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv after a 12-day break, a Ukrainian military official said on Sunday, with air defence systems preliminarily destroying all targets on their approach.
“Another enemy attack on Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, a colonel general who heads Kyiv’s military administration, said in a Telegram post.
“At this moment, there is no information about possible casualties or damage.”
Throughout the war nuclear experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia plant, which Russia seized control of last March, due to shelling near and around it.
Ukrainian military intelligence previously said Moscow’s troops had mined Europe’s largest nuclear plant and claimed on Friday that the number of Russian personnel is gradually being reduced.
Mr Zelenskyy said: “There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a (radiation) release”, in a news conference in Kyiv with Spain’s prime minister.
He gave no further details and so far, Moscow has not commented on reports of the apparent drawdown at the plant.
Ukraine’s GUR claimed that Russian forces are “gradually leaving the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant”.
Among the first reported to have left were three staff from Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom who were “in charge of the Russians’ activities”.
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‘A nuclear catastrophe waiting to happen’
Special Russian military units guard the facility and a unit of Rosatom runs the plant.
Both sides have accused each other of shelling near the plant, amid ongoing fears about a potential disaster at the facility, which is just 500km from the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
On Friday, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said its experts have “so far found no visible indications of mines or other explosives currently planted” at the plant.
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It said its aware of reports that mines and other explosives have been placed in and around the plant – including mines near the cooling pond.
However, director general Rafael Mariano Grossi added that experts still need additional access to carry out further such checks at the site.
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There have been widespread reports that the Russians were mining several key areas inside the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
The concern here is that Russia has a track record of leaving a trail of devastation in its wake, as they did with the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.
But, it looks very unlikely that Russia would look to destroy the nuclear plant itself. This would have long-term consequences.
Most analysts believe that Vladimir Putin retains long-term imperialist ambitions, and although progress of his military forces in Ukraine has been limited so far, he will have his eye on the long game.
Destroying the nuclear plant would devastate a huge area for generations to come and would not be a desirable outcome.
More likely is that the Russians could be planning to destroy or damage large areas of vital infrastructure at the nuclear plant to create a major distraction for the oncoming Ukrainian forces.
This would raise the spectre of nuclear disaster, and perhaps buy Russian forces time.
Sky News previously spoke to two workers at the plant who warned the consequences of a catastrophe could cause devastation across much of Europe, Russia and the Mediterranean.
The IAEA said its experts were able to inspect parts of the plant’s cooling system, including some sections of the perimeter of the large cooling pond and the isolation gate of the discharge channel of the nearby Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP).
It said both this channel and the cooling pond hold reserves of water that remain available for use by the nuclear plant despite the recent destruction of the downstream Kakhovka Dam.
The biggest nuclear risk at the plant is from overheating nuclear fuel, which could happen if the power that drives the cooling systems is cut or if there is not enough water to supply the cooling systems. Shelling has repeatedly cut power lines.
World
Charlie Kirk’s widow pays tribute to ‘perfect’ husband and says her cries ‘will echo around the world’
Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, described him as a “perfect” husband and father, and said the “evildoers” who assassinated him have no idea what they have unleashed.
“You have no idea of the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” she said on Friday in her first public remarks since the assassination.
“If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea, you have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world, you have no idea.”
Erika Kirk speaks following her husband’s assassination. Pic: Turning Point USA
Mrs Kirk addressed the public after a silent prayer from the studio where her husband recorded his podcast.
She thanked President Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance and his “phenomenal” wife, Usha, for the support, and praised the emergency teams who tried to save her husband’s life.
“Charlie said if he ever ran for office, his top priority would be to revive the American family. That was his priority,” Mrs Kirk said.
“But most of all, Charlie loved his children. And he loved me. With all his heart. And he made sure I knew that every day,” she said.
She called him a “perfect” father and husband, as she held back tears. She also talked about some of his favourite hobbies.
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Vice president JD Vance, his wife Usha, and Erika Kirk exit Air Force Two together. Pic: Reuters
Mrs Kirk said the campus tour that his organisation, Turning Point USA, had started will continue – and urged young people to join her late husband’s political movement.
“I promise I will never let your legacy die,” she said, addressing her husband, vowing to make his movement the “biggest thing this nation has ever seen”.
Mrs Kirk says she doesn’t remember the last time she slept, and shared a story about their daughter when she ran into her arms and asked: “Where’s daddy?”
“What do you tell a three-year-old?”
Mrs Kirk finished her remarks, speaking directly to her husband: “I can’t wait to see you again one day.”
“God bless you all, and may God bless America,” she said as she wrapped up her speech.
World
UK joins NATO operation to bolster Europe’s eastern flank after Russian drone incursions into Poland
NATO is to bolster Europe’s eastern flank, including the use of UK military resources, after Russia’s “reckless and unacceptable” violation of Polish airspace.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced operation ‘Eastern Sentry’ on Friday, involving the deployment of equipment on the border with Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to deter potential Russian aggression.
Poland shot down Russian drones which flew over the country on Wednesday, something the military alliance has portrayed as an attempt by Moscow to test NATO’s military response.
It underlines long-held concerns about the potential expansion of Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine.
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Michael Clarke: Russia looking to frighten NATO
Russia said its drones went astray because they were jammed, but European leaders believe the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Russia.
“It’s reckless and unacceptable. We can’t have Russian drones entering allied airspace,” Mr Rutte told a news conference.
Mark Rutte described Russian drones entering Polish airspace as ‘reckless’. Pic: Reuters
He added that allies, including the UK, France, Germany and Denmark, have so far committed to the mission with others set to join.
In a statement, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said: “The UK is fully committed to playing our part in NATO’s Eastern Sentry following the reckless and dangerous airspace violations by Russia”. It added that the details of the UK’s contribution would be announced soon.
Yvette Cooper visited Ukraine on Friday, her first visit to the country since becoming foreign secretary after a cabinet shake-up by Sir Keir Starmer.
Ms Cooper described her trip, which included a meeting with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine.
“The UK will not stand idly by as Putin continues his barbaric invasion of Ukraine,” Ms Cooper said, noting what she said was the Russian president’s “complete disregard for sovereignty” by sending drones into NATO airspace.
Yvette Cooper met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday. Pic: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Pic: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Prince Harry also made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Friday, where he met with wounded service members.
NATO already has substantial forces in eastern Europe, including thousands of troops, but the alliance did not explain how many additional forces would be involved in the new operation.
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Prince Harry’s surprise visit to Ukraine
Speaking at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters, US General Alexus Grynkewich told reporters the additional resources will enable the alliance to “plug gaps in the line” and concentrate forces wherever they’re needed while improving communications across NATO’s entire eastern flank.
NATO detailed a modest number of additional military assets – including two F-16 fighter jets and a frigate from Denmark, three Rafale fighter jets from France and four Eurofighter jets from Germany.
The announcement also coincided with a joint military exercise involving thousands of Russian and Belarusian troops, which began on Friday.
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Meanwhile, new measures were announced by the UK against Russia on Friday.
They included bans on 70 vessels the UK says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions.
Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – were also sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.
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Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, dismissed Donald Trump’s suggestion that the drone incursion into Poland may have been “a mistake”.
“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake,” Mr Tusk wrote on X. “But it wasn’t. And we know it.”
US-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to progress.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said talks to end the war were currently on “pause” even though channels of communication remain open.
Thousands of troops are taking part in a joint military exercise between Russia and Belarus, as tensions with the EU run high following a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace earlier this week.
The Zapad joint military exercise which began on Friday will involve drills in both Russia and Belarus as well as in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.
Belarusian defence officials initially said about 13,000 troops would participate in the drill, but in May, its defence ministry said that would be cut nearly in half.
It comes just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down Russian drones over its airspace.
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Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday morning hit back at a suggestion by US President Donald Trump on Thursday that the incursion may have been a “mistake”.
He said in a post on X: “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it.”
Russia said its forces had been attacking Ukraine at the time of the incursions and that it had not intended to hit any targets in Poland.
Friday also saw Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper travelling to Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv on the same day the UK announced fresh sanctions against Moscow.
Prince Harry was also in Kyiv for a surprise visit to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.
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Prince Harry arrives in Kyiv
Ms Cooper, who was appointed foreign secretary last week, posted about her visit on X saying: “The UK’s support for Ukraine is steadfast. I am pleased to be in Kyiv on my first visit as Foreign Secretary.”
The UK’s new sanctions include bans on 70 vessels that Britain says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions already in place.
Yvette Cooper with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Pic: Valentyn Ogirenko/PA
Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – have also been sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.
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Meanwhile on the frontline, Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s oil-loading Primorsk port overnight, an SBU official said.
The attack caused fires and suspended oil-loading operations, the official added.
Russian defence systems also intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight.
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