Liveblog: ++ Many injured in attack in Makiivka ++

According to the authorities, 25 people were injured by projectiles in the Russian-occupied city of Makiivka. So far, 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in Germany. All developments in the live blog.

All developments in the live blog.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia has again lost the connection to its external main power line. Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is therefore dependent on the recently restored replacement supply from a less powerful line, explained IAEA boss Rafael Grossi in Vienna.

The only remaining 750-kilovolt (kV) power line — out of four available before the conflict — was disrupted at 1:21 a.m. local time on Tuesday. “It was not immediately known what caused the blackout and how long it lasted,” the IAEA continued. The electricity is needed, for example, to pump cooling water for the plant.

“This time the power plant avoided a total blackout of all external power supply – which had already happened seven times during the conflict – but the recent power line disruption once again highlights the precarious nuclear safety situation at the power plant,” Grossi said.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag met with BND President Bruno Kahl on the situation in Russia and Ukraine. After the armed uprising by the Wagner mercenary group a week and a half ago, the secret meeting should also deal with the question of when the German foreign intelligence service knew about the events involving the head of the troop, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

There was criticism, especially from the ranks of the traffic light factions of the SPD and FDP, that the BND, unlike partner services in the USA, for example, was informed too late about the revolt that was quickly broken off.

Punishment of the prominent Russian general Sergey Surovikin for his involvement in the mutiny of the private army Wagner would be risky for the Russian leadership in the British view. “Although best known in the West for his brutal reputation, Surovikin is one of the most respected senior officers in the Russian military,” Britain’s MoD said in its daily intelligence update.

The British Ministry stressed that Surowikin, the head of the Russian Air and Space Forces and former supreme commander in the war of aggression against Ukraine, has not been seen in public since the Wagner Uprising on June 23-24. According to British estimates, Surovikin was a liaison with the Ministry of Defense for Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov was recently absent.

According to their governors, the Russian regions of Kursk and Belgorod have been shelled by Ukrainian forces. According to current information, there were no victims in the attacks from across the state border.

“The city of Valuyki is under fire from Ukrainian forces,” Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram news app this morning. He left open whether it was rocket or artillery fire or some other form of attack. “The air defense system worked, but there is destruction on the ground.”

The governor of the Kursk region north of Belgorod, Roman Starovoyt, said a fire had broken out in the village of Tyotkino. A school and a private home were damaged. Starovojt did not comment on the nature of the attack.

The Russian economy is developing better than expected. This was announced by President Vladimir Putin on the website of the Russian Presidential Office. Prime Minister Mishustin’s report on economic growth was surprisingly positive. GDP growth could top 2 percent this year and annualized consumer price inflation is unlikely to rise above 5 percent, Mishustin told Putin at a meeting in the Kremlin, according to the transcript.

The International Monetary Fund expects the Russian economy to grow by 0.7 percent this year. Russia’s economy shrank by 2.1 percent in 2022. It was under particular pressure last spring when Kiev’s allies imposed far-reaching sanctions on Moscow because of the military operation in Ukraine.

5,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in Germany since the start of the Russian war of aggression. As a spokesman for the training command led by the Bundeswehr told the AFP news agency, up to 5,000 more could follow this year.

The EU mission created for this purpose has “capacity to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Germany by the end of the year”.

According to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, Ukrainian forces are making daily advances in the areas outside of Bakhmut, despite fierce Russian resistance. “We are advancing on the southern flank of Bakhmut. In the north, to be honest, there is heavy fighting and no advance so far,” Maljar said on state television. Russian forces were increasing their troops in the south and east and were advancing further north near Lyman and Svatowe.

According to local authorities, 25 people were injured by the impact of several projectiles in the city of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine, which is controlled by Russian troops. Two children were among the injured, said the Moscow-appointed head of the partly Russian-occupied Donetsk region, Denis Puschilin, on his Telegram channel. There he wrote: “The blast was felt by the majority of residents of Makiivka and Donetsk.”

Previously, Puschilin had already reported two deaths from shelling in the Donetsk region. According to Puschilin, houses, a hospital, schools and a kindergarten were damaged. According to Russian military blogs, HIMARS artillery rockets, which Ukraine received from the United States, were used for the shelling. According to Ukrainian sources, the force of the explosion is due to the fact that the shelling hit a fuel or ammunition depot.

Zelenskyi’s advisor, Mykhailo Podoliak, has sharply criticized the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Rafael Grossi’s efforts to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant had had no effect, he said. The IAEA would have turned around in an attempt to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant. Grossi would have been “joking around” instead of making the IAEA’s position clear from the start. “And if there is a catastrophe, then he will say that they had nothing to do with it and yes they warned of all dangers.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had warned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron against “dangerous provocations” by Russia at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Both agreed to keep the situation under maximum control together with the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, Zelenskyj writes on Twitter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspects Russia of an impending provocation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. In his daily video speech, Zelenskyy said: “We now have information from our secret service that the Russian military has placed objects resembling explosives on the roofs of several reactor blocks of the Zaporizhia NPP.”

The head of state suspected that this might serve to simulate an attack on the plant in the south of the country. He called for international pressure on Moscow to prevent this. “Unfortunately, there was no timely and widespread response to the terrorist attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. And that can inspire the Kremlin to new evils,” Zelensky said.