Ukraine’s President Zelensky said Russian forces are moving toward the Yuzhnoukrensk nuclear power plant after invading Zaporizhzhya and capturing Chernobyl. Meanwhile, major cities are still under the control of Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers help families from Kyiv (Photo: AP)
During a call with US senators on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had seized two Ukrainian nuclear power plants and were moving towards a third.
However, he said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces were occupying major cities in the central and southeastern part of the country, while Russians were trying to blockade and encircle Kharkiv, Nikolaev, Chernihiv and Sumy.
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Nuclear Plant
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Yuzhnoukrinsk nuclear power plant, located 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Mykolaiv, was in danger.
The two plants that have already been attacked by the Russian military are the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in the southeastern city of Enerhodar and Chernobyl. The latter is not active but is still staffed and maintained.
According to the country’s nuclear regulator, technical safety systems are in place and radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia plant are still normal.
Ukraine has four nuclear plants with a total of 15 reactors.
‘Russia’s worst nightmare’
On Saturday, Ukraine’s President Zelensky claimed, “We are harming the occupiers they could not have seen in their worst nightmare.”
He alleged that 10,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the ten days of the war. On Wednesday, the Russian military revealed about 500 casualties.
“It’s terrible,” said Zelensky. “Guys 18, 20 years … soldiers who weren’t even told what they were going to fight for.”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force said that five Russian aircraft and four helicopters were shot down on March 5. Ukraine now boasts a total number of 44 aircraft and 44 helicopters.
(with inputs from AP)
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