Against the backdrop of ongoing attacks on the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the presidents of Russia and France, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron, have called for a speedy inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In a phone call on Friday, Putin and Macron demanded that IAEA inspectors inspect the power plant “as soon as possible,” according to a Kremlin statement. Rafael Grossi, IAEA boss, declared his willingness to send inspectors “as soon as possible”.
The Ukrainian president accuses Russia of blackmail in the energy sector. In his evening video speech, Zelenskyy cited the example of Nord Stream 1’s planned disruption of gas supplies to Russian exporter Gazprom. Russia wants to create problems in Europe with its gas supplies. “The faster everyone in Europe prepares their energy systems to work without Russian energy sources, the faster they will be able to get through any winter.” Russia is terrorizing the global energy markets.
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NATO talks with Turkey are planned in Finland
Against the background of Turkey’s demands on NATO accession candidates Finland and Sweden, representatives of the three countries will meet in Finland later this month for talks. This was revealed to journalists on Friday by the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto. Although he did not name a date, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu previously announced that the meeting will take place on August 26.
Donations bring better satellite imagery to Ukraine
Thanks to a fundraising campaign, the Ukrainian military has quick access to high-precision satellite imagery. Combining reconnaissance imagery with modern weapons opens up new opportunities for the armed forces in the fight against Russia, Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov wrote on Facebook on Friday.
“We assume that any HIMARS, M270 or MARS II, as well as any rifle or self-propelled gun with high-precision projectiles, will soon be able to destroy the enemy more effectively.” The weapon systems mentioned are long-range multiple rocket launchers. Ukraine has used them in recent weeks to fight Russian ammunition depots far behind the front lines.
It will be important on Saturday
UN Secretary General Guterres plans to visit the coordination center for Ukrainian grain exports in Istanbul on Saturday. The United Nations and Turkey reached an agreement with Russia and Ukraine in July. This enabled ships from three Ukrainian ports to transport grain again since the beginning of August.
Because of the war, the ports had been blocked since February. Guterres visited the port of Odessa on Friday. In Istanbul, ships and cargo are checked on the outward and return journeys.
