Ukraine’s Armed Forces are continuing with the counteroffensive actions in the east and south-east of the country, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser has claimed late on Monday evening.
According to Oleksiy Arestovych’s release on his Telegram channel, Kyiv’s military has liberated several settlements on the western bank of the Dnieper, adding that Russian forces there are in operational encirclement and predicting that their position will be extremely difficult within a month.
Confirming Ukraine’s counteroffensive actions in the southern Kherson region, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that over the past 24 hours, Ukraine has launched 15 artillery attacks on Energoder and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, stressing, however, that the radiation around the facility remained normal.
According to Enerhodar’s Mayor Dmytro Orlov, the electricity and water supplies in the city have been cut after the damage caused by Ukrainian shelling.
Vladimir Rogov, a senior official in the Russian-backed military-civilian administration of Enerhodar said that there had been seven incoming shells, including three of them at the nuclear power plant.
The ministry’s release also informed of heavy bombardments around the town of Nova Kakhovka, where rockets from the AFU have activated eighth air raid alarms in a day.
According to Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk oblast, Ukrainian troops have advanced and gained a foothold in Luhansk and have repulsed Russian attacks in the eastern region.
Meanwhile, the report on the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine, including the findings from the mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, is expected to be released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later today.
Ukraine’s state nuclear energy provider, Energoatom, warned on Monday that the facility was operating with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety regulations after the fifth power unit was disconnected on Saturday due to repeated shelling by the Russian troops which damaged the communication line between the plant and the Ukrainian grid.
Energoatom said that currently, only the 6th power unit remains in operation to supply electricity to the Zaporizhzhia NPP’s own needs and the energy system of Ukraine.