US Warns Moscow Not to Divert Power from Ukraine Nuclear Plant

A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters
A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters
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US Warns Moscow Not to Divert Power from Ukraine Nuclear Plant

A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters
A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters

Washington on Thursday warned Russia against diverting energy from a nuclear plant Kyiv says was cut off from its grid, as calls for an independent inspection of the facility mount.

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is under occupation by Moscow's troops and was disconnected from the national power supply on Thursday, the state energy operator said, AFP said.

The United States cautioned Russia against redirecting energy from the site.

"The electricity that it produces rightly belongs to Ukraine and any attempt to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian power grid and redirect to occupied areas is unacceptable," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

"No country should turn a nuclear power plant into an active war zone and we oppose any Russian efforts to weaponize or divert energy from the plant."

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Ukraine had informed it the plant temporarily lost connection -- "further underlining the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to travel to the facility".

"We can't afford to lose any more time. I'm determined to personally lead an IAEA mission to the plant in the next few days," the organization's Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre urged Russia to agree to a demilitarized zone around the plant and "allow the IAEA to visit as soon as possible to check on the safety."

The Zaporizhzhia plant -- Europe's largest nuclear facility -- has been occupied by Russian troops in southern Ukraine since the opening weeks of the war, and remained on the frontlines ever since.

Recently Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame for shelling around the complex, a "highly volatile" development the IAEA says "underlines the very real risk of a nuclear disaster".

President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russian actions around the plant as a menace.

"Russia has put Ukrainians as well as all Europeans one step away from radiation disaster," he said in his nightly address.

President Joe Biden, in a telephone call with Zelensky, called for Russia to return full control of the plant and let in UN nuclear inspectors, the White House said.

Zelensky said earlier on Thursday he had spoken with Biden and thanked him for the United States' "unwavering" support.

"We discussed Ukraine's further steps on our path to the victory over the aggressor and importance of holding Russia accountable for war crimes", Zelensky said on Twitter.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to increase the headcount of his country's army to more than two million, including 1.15 million servicemen, from next January, according to the document published on a government portal.

Putin last set the army headcount in 2017 at around 1.9 million people with 1.01 million soldiers.

Ukraine state operator Energoatom said the Zaporizhzhiaplant was severed from the national network after a power line was twice disconnected by ash pit fires in an adjacent thermal power plant.

The three other power lines "were earlier damaged during terrorist attacks" by Russian forces, the operator said.

"The actions of the invaders caused a complete disconnection of the (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant) from the power grid -- the first in the history of the plant," Energoatom added on Telegram.

It added that "start-up operations are under way to connect one of the reactors to the network".

Kyiv officials have said they believe Moscow has seized the station in order to divert power to the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

Energoatom could not be immediately reached for comment on whether the supply had been diverted, the cause of the ash pit fires, or the number of those without electricity.

However, the mayor of the city of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov said "Russian occupiers cut off the electricity in almost all occupied settlements of Zaporizhzhia".

- Independence day deaths -
Meanwhile on Thursday the death toll from an air strike on a train station in central Ukraine rose to 25, as the EU warned those "responsible for Russian rocket terror will be held accountable".

Russia issued a counter-claim saying it targeted soldiers and killed 200 Ukrainian servicemen in the attack Wednesday on a rail hub in Chaplyne city of the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The attack struck six months to the day since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine and also on the day Ukraine celebrated its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union.

On Thursday, state rail operator Ukrainian Railways said the toll had risen overnight from 22 to 25, and included two children with a further 31 people injured.

In a daily press briefing, Moscow's defense ministry said the train was "en route to combat zones" in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, which Russia seeks to fully control.

But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell "strongly" condemned "another heinous attack by Russia on civilians".

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown said the strike "is just one more example of the level of suffering that this war is causing the people of Ukraine".

Ukraine claimed Thursday to have repatriated 53 children it said were illegally taken to Russia for adoption but gave no details about the operation.



Türkiye Says It Is Closely Monitoring PKK Disbandment to Secure Peace 

A protester waves a flag bearing a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) jailed in Türkiye since 1999, during a demonstration calling for his release in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on February 15, 2025. (AFP)
A protester waves a flag bearing a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) jailed in Türkiye since 1999, during a demonstration calling for his release in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on February 15, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye Says It Is Closely Monitoring PKK Disbandment to Secure Peace 

A protester waves a flag bearing a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) jailed in Türkiye since 1999, during a demonstration calling for his release in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on February 15, 2025. (AFP)
A protester waves a flag bearing a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) jailed in Türkiye since 1999, during a demonstration calling for his release in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on February 15, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye is closely monitoring any attempts to undermine its peace initiative with the PKK, a senior official said Tuesday, following the militant Kurdish group’s announcement that it is dissolving and ending its decades-long armed conflict with the Turkish state.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by several, announced the historic decision on Monday months after its imprisoned leader called for the group to formally disband and disarm — a move that could bring an end to one of the Middle East’s longest-running insurgencies.

In making the call, the PKK leader stressed the need for securing Kurdish rights through negotiation rather than armed struggle.

Previous peace efforts with the group have failed, most recently in 2015. Given the past failures, a close aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed determination to uphold the current initiative and prevent any disruptions.

“We are closely following attempts to sabotage the process and we will not allow anyone to test our state’s determination in this regard,” Fahrettin Altun, the head of the Turkish presidential communications office said.

The PKK initially launched its struggle with the goal of establishing an independent Kurdish state. Over time, it moderated its objectives toward autonomy and greater Kurdish rights within Türkiye. The conflict, which has spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria, has claimed tens of thousands of lives since it began in the 1980s.

The latest peace effort, which the government has labeled “Terror-Free Türkiye” was launched in October, after a key ally of Erdogan suggested parole for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan if the PKK renounces violence and disbands.

Officials have not disclose details about the process that will follow the PKK’s decision.

Media close to the government have reported that the PKK’s disarmament process is expected to take three to four months, with weapons being collected at designated locations in northern Iraq under official supervision.

According to Hurriyet newspaper, the disarmament could be overseen jointly by Türkiye and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq or through a commission involving Türkiye, the United States, European Union nations and Iraq.

The newspaper also suggested that high-ranking PKK members may be relocated to third countries, while lower-ranking militants without arrest warrants could return to Türkiye once a legal framework is established to facilitate their reintegration.

Turkish officials have not responded to requests for comment on the report.

Analysts expect Ocalan to see improved prison conditions following the PKK's disbandment.

Erdogan said Monday the PKK’s declaration should apply to all PKK-affiliated groups, including Kurdish groups in Syria.

The Kurdish fighters in Syria have ties to the PKK and have been involved in intense fighting with Turkish-backed forces there. The leader of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces previously said Ocalan’s call for a dissolution does not apply to his group in Syria.

The group then reached an agreement with the central government in Damascus for a nationwide ceasefire and its merger into the Syrian army. Despite the deal, Kurdish officials in Syria later declared their desire for a federal state, sparking tensions with the Syrian government.

Some believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is for Erdogan’s government to garner Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his term ends.