Ukraine shells hydropower plant in Kherson
Ukraine strikes a hydropower plant in Kherson, a key plant that supplies millions of people with power and irrigation.
The Ukrainian armed forces fired a barrage of missiles at the Russian-held southern Kherson city of Navo Kakhovka on Saturday, which targeted a highly important hydropower plant, the district administration said.
"No visible hits by Ukrainian missiles were reported in the city. The Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was one of the usual targets," the administration said on social media.
The power plant's significance stems from the fact that it supplies the entire district with electricity while providing for the irrigation of large areas of southern Ukraine and Crimea. The district authorities said the Russian air defenses fired at 14 missiles.
On September 6, Kiev's forces initiated an offensive on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant causing a temporary power outage as well as instability in the water supply.
Authorities reported in a statement that a total of seven shells had hit the area of a training building on the NPP premises, one of which had caused a leak of fuel oil from a tank at a water delivery line at the ZNPP.
In light of these events, the IAEA said it would issue an immediate report about the findings of the agency's mission to the ZNPP.
In that report, the IAEA called for the urgent establishment of a security zone at the power plant and its vicinities.
Moscow later criticized the IAEA for not naming the source of the shelling at ZNPP and demanded clarifications regarding its report.
Energodar and the Zaporozhye plant have been under Russian control since early March and had operated without interruption until July when drone and artillery assaults began. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, 29 strikes on the Zaporozhye complex have taken place since July 18, including 120 artillery shells and 16 kamikaze drones.