Russian rockets slam into Ukrainian city near nuclear plant

AP

Kyiv, October 6

Seven Russian rockets slammed into residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia before dawn on Thursday, killing two people and trapping at least five in the city close to Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, the governor of the mostly Russian-occupied region said.

The strikes came just hours after Ukraine's president announced that the country's military had retaken three more villages in one of the regions illegally annexed by Russia.

Governor Oleksandr Starukh wrote on his Telegram channel that many people were rescued from the multi-storey buildings, including a 3-year-old girl who was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Zaporizhzhia is one of four regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed in violation of international laws on Wednesday, and is home to a nuclear plant that is under Russian occupation. The city of the same name remains under Ukrainian control.

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog is expected to visit Kyiv this week to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia facility after Putin signed a decree on Wednesday declaring that Russia was taking over the six-reactor plant.

Ukraine's foreign ministry called it a criminal act and said it considered Putin's decree “null and void”. The state nuclear operator, Energoatom, said it would continue to operate the plant.

Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to talk with Ukrainian officials about the Russian move. He will also discuss efforts to set up a secure protection zone around the facility, which has been damaged in the fighting and seen staff including its director abducted by Russian troops.

Grossi will travel to Moscow for talks with Russian officials after a stop in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, leaders from more than 40 countries are meeting in Prague on Thursday to launch a “European Political Community” aimed at boosting security and prosperity across the continent, a day after the Kremlin held the door open for further land grabs in Ukraine.

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