A new Russian rocket attack is reported from the city of Zaporizhia, according to corrected information twelve people are killed. The next crisis occurs in the nuclear power plant of the same name.
A nighttime Russian rocket attack on Zaporizhia has again killed people. There are 12 dead and 49 injured, including six children who have to be treated in hospital, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. He published images of badly damaged skyscrapers on his channel in the Telegram news service. He spoke of "absolute evil"; the "terrorists" would be held accountable from the commander to the perpetrator.
At first there was talk of 17 deaths. According to Ukrainian military information, the Russian troops are said to have fired at least twelve rockets at the residential buildings. Initially, there was no confirmation from the Russian side.
"As a result of a night rocket attack on Zaporizhia, houses and roads in a residential area of the city were damaged," writes Anatoly Kurtev, secretary of the city administration, on Telegram. At least 20 single-family houses and around 50 multi-storey residential buildings were hit. Four schools were damaged. Anton Gerashchenko, a senior adviser to President Zelenskyy, said: "The Russians are unable to react on the battlefield and are therefore attacking the cities in the rear."
The city had already been fired at with rockets on Thursday morning. At least 17 people were also killed. According to official information, at least one child was among the recovered dead. The city of Zaporizhia, controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, is located in the region of the same name, which is also where the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located. Moscow had declared the region annexed, although it is not fully under the control of Russian troops. By decree, Russian President Vladimir Putin also placed the nuclear power plant under Russian administration on Wednesday.
On Saturday, the nuclear power plant was again cut off from the external power supply, which is important for cooling the fuel rods. The Ukrainian power plant operator Enerhoatom announced that early on Saturday morning the last remaining main power line had been damaged and interrupted "due to renewed shelling by Russian troops". The nuclear power plant, which was shut down weeks ago, is completely without electricity, which means that diesel generators have started up automatically. The diesel reserves were sufficient for ten days of such an emergency operation, it was said. The power lines need to be repaired.
