UN Nuclear Chief Delays Ukraine Nuclear Plant Visit over Security

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi attends a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 13, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi attends a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 13, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
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UN Nuclear Chief Delays Ukraine Nuclear Plant Visit over Security

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi attends a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 13, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi attends a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 13, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi delayed a trip to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station on Wednesday for security reasons as Moscow and Kyiv reported heavy fighting in southern Ukraine.

Grossi had been expected to visit the plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine on Wednesday following talks in Kyiv on Tuesday, but Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said the trip had been pushed back, possibly by days.

"Grossi is in Ukraine. The issue of his visit to the ZNPP should be resolved in the next few days," Galushchenko was quoted as saying by Interfax Ukraine news agency.

"I cannot assess the situation - there are hostilities going on and the military is assessing the situation."

A diplomatic source had earlier said security checks were being made and Grossi's trip was expected to take place soon. Russian news agency Interfax quoted a Russian-installed local official as saying Grossi would visit on Thursday.

Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in Kyiv on Tuesday that he was "very concerned" that the nuclear plant could be caught up in a Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied territory.

The IAEA said on Sunday it needed access to a site near the Zaporizhzhia plant to check water levels after the nearby reservoir lost much of its water because of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam downstream on the Dnipro River.

Satellite images from June 13 confirmed a sharp drop in the level of the Dnipro since the dam was destroyed.

Russian forces captured the hydroelectric dam and the nuclear plant in southern Ukraine shortly after their February 2022 invasion.

The plant uses a cooling pond to keep its six reactors from potentially disastrous overheating.

The Kakhovka reservoir was normally used to refill the pond but cannot do so now because of its falling water level, Ukrainian nuclear authorities have said.

Instead, the pond, which is separated from the reservoir, can be replenished using deep underground wells, they said.



Israeli PM Netanyahu Appoints New Ambassador to United States

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
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Israeli PM Netanyahu Appoints New Ambassador to United States

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on June 4, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, on June 4, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed US-born Yechiel Leiter, an official who previously served as chief of staff in the finance ministry, as the next Israeli ambassador to the United States.

"Yechiel Leiter is a highly capable diplomat, an eloquent speaker, and possesses a deep understanding of American culture and politics," Netanyahu said in a statement, Reuters reported.

His appointment was also welcomed by Yisrael Ganz, the head of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing councils of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a territory Palestinians want as part of a future state.

Ganz said Leiter, who lives in the Gush Etzion settlement area, as "a key partner in English-language advocacy for Judea and Samaria", a name used by many Israelis for the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Leiter's appointment came three days after Donald Trump's election to a second term as US president, celebrated by many Israelis because of his strong support for Israel.

As well as serving in the finance ministry, Leiter also held positions as deputy director general in the Education Ministry and acting chairman of the Israel Ports Company. His son was killed last year in the Gaza war while serving with the Israeli military.