Two explosions were recorded near the spent fuel storage facility of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia , Ukraine: officials from Energodar, the town that hosts the plant, announced today that they speak of an attack by the Ukrainian army .

According to pro-Russian officials, Kiev thus wants to undermine the IAEA mission to the plant.

The team of technicians from the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit the plant from Wednesday to Saturday. The mission arrived in Kiev from Vienna last night.

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Here is the news by the hour:

Moscow: "Continued bombing of Kiev on Kherson"

Ukrainian forces bombed the town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region "7-8 times" today and the raids continue. The pro-Russian authorities who control the region in southern Ukraine, on which Kiev launched a counter-offensive yesterday, affirm this, quoted by TASS.

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Medvedev: "EU is bored, that it also introduces a total ban on visas"

"The European leaders are fed up with their Russophobic cackle about Schengen visas for the citizens of our country. Let them quickly introduce a total ban on their issuance. Finally everyone will be convinced of what Europe's attitude towards Russian citizens is" . The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev writes on Telegram. "The Europeans - he adds - will show their true face and will less distract Russia and its citizens from the implementation of the special military operation with their lies and delusional messages. A 'la guerre comme à la guerre".

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Kiev, evacuation from occupied Crimea underway

Ukrainian authorities are preparing routes for the evacuation of people who want to leave Crimea, annexed to Russia since 2014, in view of a possible offensive to try to regain control of the region. This was stated on Twitter by Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "It is clear that the lives of citizens are a top priority for Ukraine.

That is why we are already developing evacuation routes for residents of occupied Crimea who want to leave the peninsula during active unemployment. For now - Podolyak warned - we ask everyone to stay as far away as possible from military facilities and to check shelters ".

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Guerini: "We train Ukrainians for the safe use of weapons"

"The unconditional support for Kiev" was reiterated today by the Minister of Defense, Lorenzo Guerini, during the informal meeting of the EU defense ministers. Guerini recalled the Italian commitment, underlining how "despite the government crisis, managed to finalize the fourth aid decree, in line with the priorities represented by "the Ukrainian minister Oleksii Reznikov". In addition to the equipment, he said "we are taking steps to ensure targeted training activities for Ukrainian personnel to make the use of weapons safer".

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Zelensky meets the Aiea mission in Kiev

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea) Rafael Mariano Grossi and his delegation before visiting the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The BBC reports it.

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Gazprom confirms the stop of Nord Stream from tomorrow

Gazprom confirms that the Nord Stream gas pipeline will be shut down for maintenance from tomorrow, August 31, to September 3. Tass reports it.

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Kiev: "Close the doors of EU countries to the Russians"

"Travel to the EU has had no transformative effect on Russia. Since visa facilitation was introduced in 2007, Moscow has attacked Georgia, launched a war against Ukraine, committed multiple crimes - all with overwhelming popular support. To transform Russia, the door must be closed to Russian tourists. " Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who is in Prague for the informal summit of EU foreign ministers, writes on Twitter.

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Russian bombs on the corridors for the Aiea mission

"The Russian Federation is deliberately bombing the corridors used by the IAEA mission to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with the aim of diverting it to the territory

temporarily occupied by the Crimea and the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. "This was reported by Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of President Zelensky. Ukrinform reports. The same source stressed that the position of Ukraine has not changed and that the the IAEA mission must have access "only through controlled territory of Ukraine".

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Kiev: "Russia moves military convoys from Crimea to Kherson"

Russia is forming large convoys of military vehicles in the Crimea and sending them to the Kherson region, while Ukrainian forces are bombing the bridges so that they do not get close to the front line. This was announced by Serhii Khlan, a deputy of the Kherson Regional Council, reports Ukrinform.

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Kremlin: "Drones from Iran are fake news"

The Kremlin today dismissed information published by the Washington Post as "fake news" that Russia has started importing drones from Iran. "Unfortunately, the Washington Post has recently published a large amount of fake news," said the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, when asked to comment on the publication of the American newspaper during a press conference.

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Kiev: "207 civilians hostage in the Zaporizhzhia region"

Russian forces have captured 485 civilians in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia and 207 of them "are still being held hostage", according to a report by the regional military administration, according to Ukrinform. "In the Zaporizhzhia region, the occupiers have captured 485 civilians, of which 207 are still being held hostage", the Administration said, noting that 278 people were released. As is known, the first deputy mayor of Energodar, Ivan Samoydyuk, and the mayor of Dniprorudne, Yevhen Matveev, are both detained by the Russians.

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Wp: "First supply of Iranian drones to Russia"

Moscow has obtained the first supply of Iranian combat drones for use in Ukraine. The Washington Post reports, citing American executives. According to the newspaper, Russian cargoes left Iran on August 19 last year with at least two types of drones, both capable of carrying ammunition to attack radar, artillery and other military targets: the Shahed (in models 129 and 191) and the Mohajer- 6, both considered to be in Tehran's top production line and designed for both attack and surveillance.

(Unioneonline)

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