are fulfilled 378 days of the start of the war in Ukraine. Russia launches a new wave of massive bombardments against various basic and strategic facilities in various regions of Ukrainian territory such as Kiev, Mikolaev, Jarkov, Odessa, Zaporizhia, Yitomir y Lvivamong other,
The explosions have produced power cuts throughout the country and also in the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant that at this time the electricity supply has already been recovered, so the general director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossihas warned that “if we allow this to continue, one day our luck will run out”, in relation to a nuclear disaster in the largest atomic power plant in European territory.
In Bakhmut, the Russian forces continue advancing towards the capture of the vicinity of the city where they would already control the northeast area.
On February 24, 2022, the President of Russia Vladimir Putinordered the Russian offensive in the country in what he called a “special military operation”.
Since then, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that close to 19.3 million people have fled Ukraine, since the beginning of the Russian military offensive, which he considers to be the fastest exodus in Europe since World War II. That is, more than 47% of the population –estimated at almost 41 million in 2021– would have left Ukrainian territory.
Situation of the war in Ukraine on March 9, 2023 / Map: EA According to him last report of Institute Study of War (ISW) (1) considers it unlikely that Russian forces will carry out “advances beyond Bakhmut if Russian forces capture the city“.
On the other hand, the ISW also ensures that the Russian forces “continue to conduct ground attacks on the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line“.
Also, the think tank American maintains that Russian forces continue “with offensive operations along the outskirts of the city of Donetsk“.
The Russian Armed Forces have launched a new wave of attacks on several regions of Ukraine on Thursday, bombings that have left at least five dead in Lviv as Russian troops try to finally gain complete control of the city of Bakhmut , which has become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance.
The president, Volodimir Zelenski, has admitted that it has been “a hard night”, with bombings in regions such as Kiev, Mikolaiv, Kharkov, Odesa, Zaporizhia, Yitomir and Lviv, among others. “Massive attacks have taken place throughout the country. The enemy has launched 81 rockets trying to intimidate the Ukrainians again, returning to their pathetic tactics,” he asserted in a message posted on his Telegram account.
Thus, he has pointed out that “occupation forces can only terrorize civilians.” “That’s all they can do, but it won’t help them. The responsibility for everything they’ve done is not going to go away,” he pointed out before stating that work is being done to restore electricity supply to the most affected areas.
In this sense, it has confirmed that some vital infrastructures have been affected, as well as several residential buildings. “Unfortunately, there are fatalities”, he has asserted before transferring his condolences to family and friends.
The governor of the Lviv region, Maxim Kozitski, has confirmed that at least five people have been killed by shelling in a residential area in the Zolochiv district. “My most sincere condolences to the relatives,” lamented Kozitski, who also warned that a fire has broken out that has affected several homes, vehicles and premises.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, has condemned the attacks and has branded the perpetrators “terrorists”, whom he has accused of “doing everything possible to leave Ukrainians without electricity”. “They continue to terrorize peaceful people, but they cannot understand that after what we have already been through, this will not break us and we will continue to confidently move towards the goal of clearing the Ukrainian land of Russian waste,” he said, according to a report. release.
Previously, the mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has confirmed that the attacks have left several injured in the capital, although they are already hospitalized receiving medical treatment.
The attacks have also affected the country’s energy infrastructure, for which the Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom has warned of supply cuts, especially in areas of Kiev, Mykolaiv, Kharkov, Odesa, Dnipro and Yitomir.
In a statement, the company has indicated that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has suffered a power outage and is without power. “The station has suffered a blackout for the sixth time since the occupation began. Units five and six are in a cooling state and the emergency generators have been turned on,” the text collects.
The Ukrainian Energy Minister, Herman Galushchenko, has warned that “the Russians are putting the world on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe” and has urged “to start negotiations on the demilitarization of the plant.”
In Kiev, on the other hand, the authorities have announced cuts in the supply with the aim of “avoiding the greatest possible damage to energy infrastructures”, for which 40 percent of consumers have been left without heating for the moment.
Likewise, the city of Kharkiv has suffered a general blackout due to a missile attack and, according to the mayor, Igor Terejov, the area has been left without electricity, water and heating. “The authorities are working to restore all the supply. We believe that the situation is complete, but we are confident that we can return the supply in the shortest period of time possible,” he said.
However, the Ukrainian forces have highlighted that they have managed to repel a hundred Russian air attacks in five regions of the country over the last day. “The enemy continues to violate the norms of International Law and continues with its attacks as it tries to destroy the country’s infrastructure,” the Army warned in a statement collected by the Ukrinform news agency.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, located in eastern Ukraine, is once again connected to the general electricity grid after depending for hours on emergency diesel generators, after further outages stemming from a wave of bombardments launched by Russian forces.
The company Ukrenergo has confirmed on Facebook that the facilities are receiving normal supply again, which also reduces the risk of some type of accident. The plant has been taken over by Russian forces since the beginning of March 2022, shortly after the start of the offensive on Ukraine.
The latest wave of attacks has forced a new disconnection of the power plant from the electricity grid, something that has not happened since November and that forces the facilities to use emergency generators, “the last line of defense” in the words of the general director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi.
“It is the sixth time, I repeat it, the sixth time, that the plant has lost all its external supply and has had to operate in emergency mode,” Grossi recalled, emphasizing that it is “the largest nuclear power plant of Europe” and that any mishap can be fatal.
“If we allow this to continue, one day our luck will run out,” he warned. The IAEA has called for the creation of a security zone around the plant to avoid risks
Russian forces continue to advance in the vicinity of the city of Bakhmut, which has become vitally important at this stage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The owner of the Wagner Group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, announced this Thursday that the Dubovo and Vasilevka area, northwest of the town, is already under “complete control” of Russian forces.
Prigozhin, who has previously indicated that the Russian mercenary group controls the entire eastern part of the city, said in a statement that the area northwest of the city “is already under Russian control although there are clashes on the outskirts of Bakhmut.” .
Likewise, it has warned of the deployment by Ukraine of four Army units in the region to stop the advance precisely towards Bakhmut. On Wednesday, Zelenski urged forcefully defending the area, considering that the capture of Bakhmut by Russia would mean establishing a “direct route” to access other cities in the east of the country.
Flow of refugees from Ukraine to other countries as of March 7, 2023 / Map: EA The number of refugees who have crossed the border from Ukraine into the rest of Europe it continues to grow since the start of the war in Ukraine, unleashed by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24.
He United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that about 19.3 million people have fled Ukraine, since the beginning of the Russian military offensive, which he considers to be the fastest exodus in Europe since World War II. Until the 47% of the population –estimated at almost 41 million in 2021– would have left Ukrainian territory.
According to the latest UNHCR data (2), 19,293,163 people have left Ukrainian territory as of March 7, 2023. By countries, 10.034.694 Ukrainian refugees have already arrived Poland, 2.852.395 a Russia (October 3, 2022), 2.316.456 a Hungary, 2.039.149 a Romania (March 5th), 1.227.438 a Slovakia, 780.896 a Moldavia (March 5) and 16.705 a belarus (February 28th).
The High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that Up to 8.1 million Ukrainian refugees have already been registered on European territory, and almost 4.9 they would be in a situation of Temporary Protection, due to the Russian invasion of his country.
References
- (1) Institute for Study of War (ISW).
- (2) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).