September 1, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our?live?coverage?of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

A team of UN nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in southeastern Ukraine, despite nearby shelling.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the some members of the agency plan to stay at the plant until Saturday, but will continue to have a permanent presence of some kind at the facility, where constant fighting has sparked fears of a nuclear accident.?

Here are the top headlines:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Thursday, despite what he called “all the provocations of the Russian military” on the city of Enerhodar and at the station.

In his daily video message, Zelensky said it was “bad that the occupiers are trying to turn this IAEA mission — which is really necessary — into a fruitless tour of the station. I trust that this will not be allowed to happen.”

Zelensky also claimed that an agreement to allow independent journalists to accompany the IAEA delegation was not upheld.

“Unfortunately, the occupiers did not let journalists in, but organized a crowd of their propagandists,” he said. “Unfortunately, IAEA representatives did not protect representatives of independent media.”

He also stressed again that the area around the plant should be demilitarized.

Ukrainian servicemen fire at a position in the?Donetsk?region on August 26.

The Ukrainian military says the situation in the eastern Donetsk region is virtually unchanged, despite weeks of efforts by Russian forces and their allies in the Donbas militias to take new territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declared objective is to take all of the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, but Ukrainian forces still control more than one-third of Donetsk.

The Ukrainian military’s General Staff said Thursday that once again the Russians had tried to attack in several directions, towards the city of Sloviansk and the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

In each instance, the General Staff said, Russian forces had been unsuccessful and had withdrawn.

It spoke of heavy attacks with tanks, artillery and mortars in the south where Ukrainian forces are trying to weaken Russian defenses.

According to the General Staff, the Russians had fired on 15 settlements in the region, mostly along the borders of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, which have been an active front line for more than two months.

Black smoke rises at the front line in Mykolaiv Oblast in southern Ukraine on August 30.

The Ukrainian military says it is keeping up the pressure on Russian forces in the southern Kherson region, with attacks on several targets Thursday, including bridges across the Dnipro river.

Its Operational Command South said, “Our missile and artillery units conducted fire missions on three control points, a radar station, two points of concentration of enemy manpower, weapons and equipment.”?

“An attempt to establish a new pontoon crossing in the Dariivka area was also cut down by our fire,” it said.

It added that fire against the Kakhovskyi Bridge left several additional holes, which meant it remained unusable to occupying forces.

Ukrainian forces have focused in the last two months on degrading Russian supply lines, ammunition depots and rear bases in the south.

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadeem Zahawi said on Thursday that he is hopeful that G7 ministers will agree on Friday to a price cap scheme for Russian oil exports.

Speaking at an event organized by Washington, DC-based think tank American Enterprise Institute,?Zahawi said the primary reason he was in the US was “to get this oil price gap over the line.”

Some background: Russia’s government is making just as much money from energy exports as it was before its invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, inflation is surging globally.

With price caps, barrels of Russian oil could theoretically still make their way onto the global market, thereby avoiding a further supply crunch — but Moscow wouldn’t be able to keep raking in hefty profits.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said he and his team went to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Thursday despite shelling near the plant earlier in the day.?

“Heavy machine gun artillery, mortars two or three times were really pretty concerning, I would say, for all of us. We had splendid support from the United Nations Security team that is here with me as well. So I think we showed that the international community is there, could be there and we are continuing this,” he added.??

Grossi’s remarks come as Ukraine accused Russian forces of trying to disrupt the IAEA visit to the nuclear plant by shelling in the city of Enerhodar near the facility early Thursday.

IAEA?Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks with journalists at a Ukrainian checkpoint after a part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission came back from a Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on September 1.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said Thursday he would continue to worry?until the situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had stabilized.?

“Wherever you stand, whatever you think about this war. This is something that cannot happen and this is why we are trying to put in place certain mechanisms and the presence,” he added.??

Rafael Grossi, the chief of?International Atomic Energy Agency, said Thursday that the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog is “not going anywhere” and will have a “continued presence” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

Russian military vehicles escort the motorcade transporting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission while leaving the?Zaporizhzhia?nuclear power plant on September 1.

Most inspectors from?the International Atomic Energy Agency mission, including its chief Rafael Grossi, have left the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following a visit on Thursday, Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom said in a statement.??

“As of now, five representatives of IAEA have stayed in the ZNPP, who are unloading the equipment brought with them and continue to work,” it said.??

It is expected that the remaining inspectors would stay at the plant until Sept. 3, Energoatom added.??

The Russian-installed governor of occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia, Yevhen Balytskyi, also told RIA Novosti the mission will stay at the plant until Saturday.

The?head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told reporters that he and his team were able to look at “key things,” according to a video released by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.?

An employee, still working at the?Zaporizhzhia?nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, told CNN she felt like a hostage.

Olga, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said the working conditions for the employees at the plant are “very stressful,” and alleged that the Russian guards are often violent.

Employees are searched by Russian soldiers every day and cannot carry phones, flash drives or memory cards to work, according to Olga.

Speaking from her home in the Russian-occupied town of Enerhodar, she said she stayed home during the visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) because she said she was frightened by the “constant shelling.”

Olga said she wasn’t convinced the IAEA mission would get the full picture, but hoped they would see “all the (Russian) soldiers, equipment, helicopters and the damage caused by their shelling.”

Despite the IAEA’s visit, Olga said her future is bleak.?

Germany will charter a fifth floating liquefied natural gas terminal as the country looks to become independent of Russian gas imports and secure supplies for future winters, the country’s economic ministry announced Thursday.

The terminal for the import of LNG will be installed in Wilhelmshaven, a port city in northwestern Germany.

It?will have a capacity of 5 billion cubic meters per year and?will be operated by a?consortium made up of energy companies EON, Engie and Tree Energy Solutions, according to the ministry. It is scheduled to become fully operational at the end of 2023.?

Germany has been under pressure from Ukraine and other nations in Europe reduce its reliance on Russian energy?supplies since the start of the invasion of Ukraine on?Feb.?24.?

“All the steps we take to free ourselves as quickly as possible from the clutches of Russian imports are more necessary than ever,” Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters on Thursday.

For future winters, the newly chartered floating unit is expected fill the gap left by Russian gas imports, which covered 55% of?Germany’s?demand before the invasion of Ukraine.

The five government-chartered terminals have a total capacity of 25 billion cubic meters per year, with the first set to begin pumping gas around the end of 2022.?

Some background: Russian state energy giant Gazprom cut all deliveries through the?Nord Stream 1 pipeline?on Wednesday in what it said was a planned shutdown until Saturday for maintenance work.

In recent months, Gazprom has slashed flows through Nord Stream 1 to just?20% of capacity, citing maintenance issues and blaming Western sanctions on exports of technology imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A motorcade transporting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission, escorted by the Russian military, arrives at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plan on September 1.

The?head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said his team was?able to gather “a lot” of information in a few hours while visiting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Thursday.

He was able to look at the “key things” he needed to see, Grossi told reporters in a video released by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.?

“We were able, in these few hours, to gather a lot, a lot of information. The key things I needed to see, I saw,” he said in the video.

Grossi left the plant following the visit, RIA Novosti reported.?

The news agency published a video where some United Nations vehicles were seen leaving the facility.?It is not clear whether the rest of the members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection team are still at the plant.?

The IAEA has not yet independently confirmed Grossi’s departure from the plant. CNN has contacted the agency for comment.

European Union leaders’ political agreement to suspend the bloc’s visa facilitation agreement with Moscow, making it harder for Russian citizens to obtain Schengen visas, is “ridiculous” and will make life more complicated for Europeans as well, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

“This is bad for the Russians because it will most likely take longer and more difficult to obtain visas,” Peskov told reporters on a conference call.?“Of course, withdrawing this agreement will also make the situation more difficult for the Europeans.”

This is “another ridiculous solution to an ongoing absurdity,” Peskov went on to say.

Some background: Following a two day informal meeting in Prague, EU’s foreign ministers on Wednesday reached an agreement to fully suspend the visa facilitation deal between the European Union and Russia. They stopped short of an?outright ban on travel?to the bloc.

Noting that this is only a political agreement at this point and not legal text, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said that once adopted, the decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states.”

It is not yet clear when the suspension would come into force.

Chinese service members at the opening ceremony for joint military?exercises in the far eastern Primorsky region of Russia on August 31.

China and India are taking part in large-scale joint military exercises led by Russia in its Eastern Military District, the two countries’ defense ministries have confirmed.?

Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other countries are also participating in the exercises.

More than 2,000 troops, as well as more than 300 vehicles of various types, 21 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and three ships were also sent by China to the exercise, according to state-run tabloid The Global Times.?

“As per the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries and the consensus reached by the two sides, the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) recently sent troops to Russia to participate in the Vostok-2022 exercise,” Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, said in a press conference last week.?

Tan added that the PLA’s participation aimed to “deepen practical and friendly cooperation with other participating militaries, enhance strategic coordination among participating parties, and strengthen the capability to jointly respond to various security threats.”?

In mid-August, China’s defense ministry said that the drills were “unrelated to the current international and regional situation.”

An Indian Army contingent will also take part in in the drills, India’s Ministry of Defence said.?

“The Indian Army contingent will look forward to sharing practical aspects and put into practice the validated drills, procedures and practice amalgamation of new technology through discussions and tactical exercises,” the release added.

For context: India has participated in similar exercises with China and Russia in the past, but this latest one comes amid heightened tensions over both Taiwan and Ukraine. Over the past six months, India has refrained from taking a strong stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine despite heavy pressure from Western countries.?

In total, more than 50,000 servicemen and over 5,000 units of weapons and military equipment — including 140 aircraft, 60 warships, boats and support vessels — will be involved in the Vostok-2022 exercises, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Russia last staged its Vostok drills in 2018, which it then branded as its “largest war games since the fall of the Soviet Union,” including thousands of troops from China and Mongolia.?

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission is planning on inspecting operational parts of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and will visit its reactors on Thursday, the Russian-installed governor of occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia, Yevhen Balytskyi, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.?

According to Balytskyi, the mission will stay at the plant until Sept. 3.

The IAEA mission arrived at the plant Thursday afternoon local time after being delayed on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the front line for about three hours.?

While setting off for the plant from the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia earlier Thursday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the mission would persevere despite the “inherent risks” his monitoring team would face.?

Grossi said there are plans to establish a permanent presence at the plant, which was captured by Russian troops in March. Both sides have accused each other of shelling it.?

According to RIA Novosti, a representative from Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom showed the plant to the IAEA mission, including the consequences of shelling that the Russian side blames on the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Minister of Energy, Herman Halushchenko, talks to media prior a meeting in Brussels on July 26.

Ukraine cannot grant all the security for the team of UN nuclear inspectors at the Zaporizhzia nuclear plant, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman?Halushchenko said, stressing that the situation around the nuclear?facility remains “a mess.”

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was told that security is “your own responsibility,” Halushchenko?said.

Grossi seemed “confident to assume the risk,” he added.

Halushchenko was speaking in Novooleksandrivka in the Zaporizhzhia region?earlier on Thursday,?where he accompanied the IAEA delegation?before they traveled on to the Russian-occupied territory.?

Remember: The Zaporizhzhia region is still in Ukrainian control but the nuclear power plant is occupied by the Russians.

“Ukraine fulfilled all international obligations and gave every possibility for this mission to come, ” Halushchenko told reporters, praising the bravery of the mission participants in facing “challenges never seen before” in IAEA history.

Halushchenko said he understands the mission has “some security agreement with the Russians” and suggested several members of the team would stay onsite “for several days,”?but said?Grossi is due to arrive back in Novooleksandrivka on Thursday.?

The director of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (SUNPP) heads down into the emergency bunker with his team, a daily occurrence when air raid sirens sound warning that Russian missiles could be approaching.

Ihor Polovych and his team have learned to work effectively from the well-equipped basement room of the SUNPP in the Mykolaiv region, assessing the potential incoming danger and returning above ground when they are assured by the military that their plant is not the target.

His assistant tells him that this alarm sounded because there were “planes over Crimea with guided missiles onboard” and “nobody knows where they will fly.”

During CNN’s exclusive visit to Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear power plant on Wednesday, air raid sirens sounded four times within the space of a few hours, emphasizing the uncertainty and fear which the workers are facing.

“Given that we are close to the frontline, the personnel feels the danger,” Polovych said.

At least three times since the invasion began six months ago, Russian missiles have soared above the SUNPP, coming dangerously close to power lines and risking the safety of the plant.

But the team is thankful that the plant is still in Ukrainian hands. The SUNPP narrowly avoided a takeover by Russian troops early in the war.

Voznesensk, a town around 20 miles (more than 46 kilometers) south of the plant, managed to thwart the Russian advance after blowing up their own bridge.

Those few days were a “very dangerous period” for the plant, Polovych said.

Meanwhile, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine was stormed by Russian troops and is now at the center of a nuclear safety crisis as it comes under regular shelling. On Thursday, a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived to inspect the plant.

Watch CNN’s report here:

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03:07 - Source: CNN

A team of UN nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in southeastern Ukraine, following delays en route and shelling in the nearby city of Enerhodar.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil, which spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has died after falling out of a hospital window, according to state media.

Here are the latest headlines:

IAEA?Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and fellow officials try to negotiate access to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on September 1.

The?International Atomic Energy Agency?(IAEA) mission has arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom has confirmed in a statement on Telegram.

The?IAEA also confirmed the arrival on Twitter.?

“IAEA’s Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia (ISAMZ) led by Director General Rafael Grossi has just arrived at?Zaporizhzhia?Nuclear Power Plant to conduct indispensable nuclear safety and security and safeguards activities,” the agency said in a tweet.?

The European Commission is currently considering options to cap energy prices and reduce electricity demand, as part of a strategy to deal with the steep rise in energy costs partly caused by fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There’s a crisis now. I think we are all extremely aware and the energy prices both gas and electricity bills are high as we’ve never seen before,” said Mechthild W?rsd?rfer, deputy director general of the commission’s energy department, on Thursday.

Prices have jumped since Russia’s Gazprom?announced?that it would shut down the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for three days starting Wednesday to perform maintenance work, reigniting fears that Moscow could completely shut off gas to Europe.

Europe is?desperate to?secure gas?supplies that can’t be cut off at Moscow’s whim after the Kremlin signaled its willingness to punish the bloc for its support of Ukraine.?

“There is work on emergency measures on electricity prices. There might be also something on demand reduction for electricity,” W?rsd?rfer said during a European Parliament energy committee meeting on winter preparedness.

W?rsd?rfer added that the European Commission is looking in the “medium to long term” to change their electricity market design, adding it “takes time.”

According to W?rsd?rfer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to outline the commission’s plan to tackle energy prices on September 14.

Energy ministers of the European Union member states are scheduled to gather on September 9 in Brussels for an emergency meeting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev this Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday.

“Putin’s work schedule will not allow him to take part in the farewell ceremony for Gorbachev on September 3,” Peskov said, adding that the Russian President visited the Central Clinical Hospital today to pay his respects to Gorbachev, laying flowers on the coffin.

A farewell ceremony for Gorbachev, which will be open to the public, is due to take place on Saturday from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. local time (3 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET), followed by the funeral later on the same day at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Peskov said on Thursday that “there will be elements of a state funeral.”

“There will be a guard of honor, and a farewell ceremony will be organized. The state will assist in the organization,” said Peskov, without providing an explanation as to how this would differ from ordinary state funerals.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oil Company Lukoil, Ravil Maganov, attends an awarding ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on November 21, 2019.

The chairman of Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil?— which spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?— has died after falling out of a hospital window, state news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS reported Thursday.

Ravil Maganov died at the Central Clinical Hospital west of Moscow, according to the reports, which cite the hospital and law enforcement sources.

“The incident occurred around 07:00 am Moscow time in the Central Clinical Hospital … The man fell out of the sixth-floor window and died as a result of his injuries,” a source told TASS.

Lukoil confirmed Maganov’s death in a statement published on its website, saying only that the executive died “following a severe illness” and making no mention of a fall.

“We deeply regret to announce that Ravil Maganov, Chairman of PJSC LUKOIL Board of Directors, passed away following a severe illness,” the statement read. “Ravil Maganov immensely contributed to the development of not only the Company, but of the entire Russian oil and gas sector.”

Russia’s second largest oil company made headlines in early March after speaking out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.?

“The Board of Directors of LUKOIL expresses herewith its deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine. Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy,” reads a statement from the board of directors to shareholders, staff and customers published March 3.

“We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy,” added the statement.

Lukoil produces more than 2% of the world’s crude oil and employs more than 100,000 people.?

RIA Novosti quoted a law enforcement source who said the businessman “most likely committed suicide.”

“Yes, we can confirm the fact [of death]. Investigating authorities are working on the spot to establish the causes of the incident,” the source said, according to RIA.

At least five prominent Russian businessmen have reportedly died by suicide since late January, according to previous CNN reporting.

Shelling in Enerhodar, near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has “not stopped since 5 a.m.,” city mayor Dmytro Orlov told CNN Thursday.?

Russian-appointed regional officials also reported shelling across Enerhodar Thursday, claiming there had been “at least three” civilian casualties and five injuries, including a child.

CNN has not been able to independently verify claims from either side.?

The reports come as a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) make their way to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to carry out a planned inspection of the facility, which has been held by Russian forces since March.?

In a series of statements, Russian and Ukrainian officials accused each other of shelling the IAEA’s prearranged route to the Zaporizhzhia plant.?

IAEA spokesperson Fredrik Dahl said the inspectors had been “delayed” for three hours on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the front line en route to the nuclear facility, prompting IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to personally negotiate with Ukrainian military authorities to allow the team to proceed.?

In a statement Thursday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it would provide the IAEA’s inspectors “full security for further work” upon their arrival at the plant.

The?International Atomic Energy Agency?(IAEA) mission has been delayed on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the front line for about three hours en route to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), and IAEA spokesman?has said.

“Director general Grossi has personally negotiated with Ukrainian military authorities to be able to proceed and he remains determined that this important mission reaches the ZNPP today,” Fredrik Dahl?told CNN on Thursday.

Setting off for the plant from?Zaporizhzhia city earlier Thursday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the mission would persevere despite the “inherent risks” his monitoring team would face.?

It is “high time to stop playing with fire” around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, ICRC director-general Robert Mardini urged “concrete measures” be taken “to protect this facility and others like it from any military operations.”

“The slightest miscalculation could trigger devastations that we will regret for decades,” he warned.

“In the event of a nuclear leak, it will be difficult if not impossible to provide humanitarian assistance.”

A Ukrainian presidential adviser on Thursday accused Russian forces of trying to disrupt the visit of UN nuclear inspectors to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by shelling the nearby city of Enerhodar.

Shelling has been ongoing in Enerhodar since Thursday morning, according to Ukrainian and Russian-installed regional officials as a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) traveled to the plant for a planned inspection of the facility in southeastern Ukraine, which has been held by Russian forces since March.?

Some context: CNN has not been able to independently verify claims from either side about the shelling near the facility.?CNN reached out to the IAEA regarding any obstacles or security issues on its prearranged route to the plant but has not received a response.?

Setting off for the plant from?Zaporizhzhia city earlier Thursday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the mission would persevere despite the “inherent risks” his monitoring team would face.?

Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)?set off for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on September 1.

Shelling in the city of?Enerhodar?near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power has been ongoing since Thursday morning, according to Ukrainian and Russian-installed regional officials.?

The Russian-appointed military-civilian administration of Enerhodar also claimed there had been “at least three” civilian casualties and five injuries, including a child.?

CNN has not been able to independently verify claims from either side.?

Inspectors on the way: The reports come as a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) traveled to the nuclear plant for a planned inspection of the facility in southeastern Ukraine, which has been held by Russian forces since March.?

CNN reached out to the IAEA regarding any obstacles or security issues on its prearranged route to the plant but has not received a response.?

Setting off from?Zaporizhzhia city earlier Thursday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi acknowledged the “inherent risks” his monitoring team would face after leaving the “gray zone” where the last line of Ukrainian defenses end but said the mission would persevere.?

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine on August 30.

The fifth reactor at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was shut down and its emergency protection system activated on Thursday due to shelling, Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom said in a statement.

The shutdown comes as a team of international experts were traveling to the Russian-occupied plant in southeastern Ukraine for a planned inspection amid fighting in the area that has sparked fears of a nuclear accident.

The plant, which was disconnected from the country’s power grid last Thursday, has six reactors, only two of which have been functioning — number five and number six.?

Energoatom said the remaining reactor “continues to work in the energy system of Ukraine and at the same time feeds the ZNPP’s own needs.”

Some context: Nuclear plants use a number of auxiliary safety systems, such as diesel generators and external grid connections, to keep reactors cool. Zaporizhzhia also uses a spray pond, a reservoir in which hot water from inside the plant is cooled. If those systems failed, then the nuclear reactor would heat up swiftly, triggering a nuclear meltdown.

Ukraine has accused Russian troops of using the plant as a shield, risking a potential disaster at the plant. The Kremlin has in turn repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi speaks to media in Zaporizhzhia on September 1.

A team of international experts were traveling to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for a planned inspection of the facility on Thursday despite the “significant” risks of their mission, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said.?

Upon arrival at the plant, the team will start an immediate “assessment of the security and safety situation,” Grossi told reporters, with the ultimate goal of “establishing a continued presence of the IAEA at the plant.”

The plant is near the front line of the war in southeastern Ukraine and was captured by Russian troops in March. Both sides have accused each other of shelling it.

It is uncertain how long the IAEA visit will last.

A rocket or missile fired from near the Russian city of Belgorod appears to have gone off course and crashed into a residential area, according to multiple social videos uploaded to the Telegram channel Belgorod Informant on Wednesday night.

It’s unclear how much damage it caused, or whether there were any casualties. Videos show the projectile flying in a shallow arc across the city before coming down somewhere close by. Residents posted on Telegram that it had hit the?Komsomolskiy district.

There has been no comment from local officials.?

Belgorod is close to the border with Ukraine.?

The United States believes that Russia is facing “severe” shortages of military personnel in Ukraine and is seeking new ways to increase its troop levels, two US officials told CNN.

The latest US assessment is based on downgraded intelligence and confirmed to CNN by two US officials. It is the latest effort by the Biden administration to downgrade and publicly release intelligence findings about Russia’s war effort.

The officials also said that the US has “credible reporting” that Russia’s Defense Ministry is “likely to begin” recruiting convicted criminals in Ukraine “in exchange for pardons and financial compensation.”

As with previous releases of downgraded intelligence, the officials did not provide additional details about the intelligence behind these assessments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week ordered the military to increase the number of troops by 137,000, though it was not clear how the Russian Defense Ministry intended to reach that target.

The Pentagon estimated earlier this month that as many as 80,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded during the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers stand on a tank at the front line in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on August 19.

In the buildup to the current?Ukrainian counteroffensive, the United States urged Kyiv to keep the operation limited in both its objectives and its geography to avoid getting overextended and bogged down on multiple fronts, multiple US and western officials and Ukrainian sources tell CNN.

Those discussions involved engaging in “war-gaming” with Kyiv, the sources said — analytical exercises that were intended to help the Ukrainian forces understand what force levels they would need to muster to be successful in different scenarios.

The Ukrainians were initially considering a?broader counteroffensive, but narrowed their mission to the south, in the Kherson region, in recent weeks, US and Ukrainian officials said.

Officials say they believe there is now increased parity between the Ukrainian and Russian militaries. But western officials have been hesitant to label the nascent Ukrainian operation — which appeared to begin on Monday in the southern province of Kherson — a true “counteroffensive.”

How successful Ukraine is likely to be in regaining lost territory remains an open question, sources familiar with the latest intelligence tell CNN. Ukrainian officials have already said this offensive will likely be a slow operation, and punishingly cold winter weather is coming and then an early spring mud, both of which could force pauses in the fighting.

Still, there is a distinct feeling amongst Ukraine’s US and western advisers that the Ukrainian military is on much more even footing with Russia than was believed even just a few short months ago, multiple officials told CNN. Russia still maintains superior numbers in overall manpower and massed artillery.

Read the full story here.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, left speaks with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, after the arrival of the IAEA inspection mission to Zaporizhzhia, on August 31.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it plans to establish a permanent presence at the?Zaporizhzhia?nuclear power plant, where constant shelling has sparked fears of a nuclear accident.

The announcement from Rafael Grossi, the IAEA chief, came shortly after he and a team of 13 other experts arrived in the city of Zaporizhzhia Wednesday. They are expected to visit the nuclear facility, which is about a two-hour drive away, on Thursday.

Grossi and his team embarked on the journey, an hours-long drive from Kyiv through a war zone, early Wednesday morning after striking a hard-fought bargain with Ukrainian and Russian officials to inspect the plant.

The team’s current remit — a technical visit meant to “prevent a nuclear accident” — is expected to last “a few days,” Grossi told reporters upon his arrival. However, if the team can lay the groundwork for a continued presence, their mission will be “prolonged.”

It’s unclear what sort of access the IAEA inspectors will be granted on their arrival or exactly?how long their visit will last. A Russian-appointed local official told the news agency Interfax that the visit would last just one day, which may not be enough time to fully inspect Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

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There are multiple reports of heavy explosions in the Nova Kakhovka area of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

The town, which is occupied by Russian forces, is strategically placed on the Dnipro river and is home to a bridge that has been repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian forces. In the past few weeks, ammunition depots in the area have also been struck.

Local social media accounts speak of airstrikes and a large fire in the vicinity of a furniture factory.

There are also reports of fresh explosions near the main Antonivskiy bridge across the Dnipro river south of Kherson city, and explosions in the nearby Oleshkiy area.

There has been no official comment from either side on the reports, which come days after Ukraine announced a new offensive in the south aimed at dislodging Russian forces in Kherson.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, center, speaks with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky and German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock during a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic on August 31.

The European Union has agreed to reduce the number of new visas available to Russian citizens, but stopped short of an?outright ban on travel?to the bloc.

EU foreign ministers decided Wednesday to fully suspend a visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia that gives Russians preferential treatment when applying for an EU visa. The measure is part of the bloc’s wide-ranging package of sanctions imposed on Russia over its war on Ukraine.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a news conference following the ministerial meeting in Prague that the decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states” given that the process would become more complicated and will take longer.

The agreement will still need to be approved by all member states at the European Council, the EU body that is comprised of heads of states and governments.

Borrell said the measure was necessary because there has been a “substantial increase on border crossings from Russia in neighboring states” since mid-July, which has become “a security risk for these states.”

Visas were already restricted to some categories of Russian nationals and many Russian officials and prominent figures close to the Kremlin have been banned from entering the bloc.

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