Ukrainian Drones Knock out Two Substations Near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station

 A war crimes prosecutor works at a site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
A war crimes prosecutor works at a site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukrainian Drones Knock out Two Substations Near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station

 A war crimes prosecutor works at a site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
A war crimes prosecutor works at a site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Lviv, Ukraine June 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Russian-installed officials said on Friday that Ukrainian drone attacks had put out of action two electricity substations in Enerhodar, the town serving the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and cut power to most of its residents.

But an official at the occupied Zaporizhzhia station, Europe's largest nuclear plant with six reactors, said it was unaffected by the military action.

On Saturday morning, the Russian management of the station said on their official Telegram channel that some "infrastructure facilities", including the transport department and print shop, experienced disruptions following the attacks.

They said that nuclear safety measures remain fully operational.

Russian troops seized the plant in the early days of the February 2022 invasion and Moscow and Kyiv have since routinely accused each other of endangering safety around it. It produces no electricity at the moment.

Eduard Senovoz, the top official in Enerhodar, wrote on Telegram that the latest attack had damaged the second of two substations supplying the town. The other substation was destroyed on Wednesday, he wrote.

Ukrainian officials have made no comment on the incidents and Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.

Russian news agencies quoted Yevgeny Yashin, director of communications at the Zaporizhzhia station, as saying the latest attack had no effect on the nuclear plant. And he said the substation could be repaired.

"Specialists have gone out to the site to assess the damage," Yashin told RIA news agency. "There is a chance to restore the damaged transformer but it will take time."

Russia launched mass attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the first winter of the conflict and resumed a long series of attacks in March.

Kyiv says the renewed attacks have knocked out half of Ukraine's energy generating capacity and forced blackouts.

Ukraine has stepped up its use of drones this year to attack Russian oil facilities. Ukrainian drones struck four Russian oil refineries as well as radar stations and other military targets in Russia in the early hours of Friday, Kyiv's military said.



Erdogan: Lebanon Has Become New Target of Israeli Policy of ‘Genocide, Occupation, Invasion’

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia September 29, 2021. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia September 29, 2021. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS
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Erdogan: Lebanon Has Become New Target of Israeli Policy of ‘Genocide, Occupation, Invasion’

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia September 29, 2021. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia September 29, 2021. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday condemned Israel's recent attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called an Israeli policy of "genocide, occupation, and invasion", urging the UN Security Council and other bodies to stop Israel.

In a post on X without naming Nasrallah, Erdogan said that Türkiye stood with the Lebanese people and government, offering his condolences for those killed in the Israeli strikes, while saying the Muslim world should show a more "determined" stance.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said on Saturday its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been killed, confirming his death after the Israeli military said it had eliminated him in an airstrike in Beirut the day before.