Ukraine says its troops advance towards Izium as fighting rages in Donbas

As Russia's military strikes continue in Ukraine, police officers are standing next to a car that was destroyed. This is Kharkiv, Ukraine, 8 August 2022.

Ukraine reports intense Russian shelling along the frontlines Tuesday (9 August) as both sides trade blame for the weekend strike at the Zaporizhzhia nucleus. This triggered international concern over a possible atomic catastrophe.

There was heavy fighting in frontline areas near Donetsk. Officials from Ukraine said that Russian troops launched waves of attacks to take control of the Donbas region, which is industrialised.

"The situation is very tense in the region. The front line is constantly under bombardment. Ukrainian television also heard Pavlo Kyrylenko, Donetsk regional governor, speak of air strikes by the enemy.

"The enemy has no success. Donetsk is holding."

In the northeast, Ukrainian troops captured Dovhenke from Russian occupiers. They were moving towards Izium, Oleksiy Arestovych, Ukrainian presidential adviser, stated in a YouTube video.

According to the daily battlefield report of Ukraine's military general, towns in Kharkiv, Kharkiv, East and Southeast were under attack from tanks, artillery, and rockets.

"The situation is very intriguing. The Ukrainian forces are moving with great success. Russia's attempts to regain lost ground have not been successful. Arestovych stated that Ukraine could end up "encircling" them.

Ukrainian forces tried to block Russian supply lines by targeting the Antonovskyi bridge in the southeast over the Dnipro River in Kherson Region.

Yuri Sobolevsky (deputy head of Kherson region council), stated on Telegram that the bridge was severely damaged due to "overnight actions".

Russia describes the war as a "special military operations".

Antonio Guterres, chief of the United Nations, on Monday called any attack against a nuclear plant "suicidal"; he demanded that U.N. nuclear inspectors have access to Zaporizhzhia - Europe's largest nuclear power facility.

Invading Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine in March. The site was then struck without any damage to its reactors. This area includes the city of Kherson is the subject of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Ukraine requested that the complex be demilitarized and that the International Atomic Energy Agency (the U.'s nuclear watchdog) be allowed in. Russia claimed it also supported an IAEA trip, which it accused Ukraine for blocking.

Both sides blamed each other for weekend attacks on the complex. It is still being managed by Ukrainian technicians. Ukraine claimed that three radiation sensors had been damaged and that two workers were injured by shrapnel.

Petro Kotin (head of Ukraine's nuclear power company Energoatom) said that 500 Russian soldiers and 50 pieces heavy machinery, including trucks and tanks, were present at the site.

He demanded peacekeepers be sent to the plant to manage it, and warned about the possibility of shells striking six containers of radioactive spent nuclear fuel.

Russia's defense ministry claimed that Ukrainian attackers had caused damage to power lines at the plant. It then ordered it to reduce output by two reactors in order to "prevent disruption".

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian President, demanded that Western sanctions be imposed on Russia's nuclear industry in an online video. "For creating the danger of a nuclear catastrophe," he said.

Dr Mark Wenman (a nuclear expert at Imperial College London) downplayed the possibility of major incidents, stating that the Zaporizhzhia plants were robust and that the spent fuel was well protected.

Washington has increased its military and fiscal support for Ukraine by sending $4.5 billion in financial aid and $1 billion to weapons. This includes long-range rocket munitions and armoured medical transport vehicle.

The United States contributed $18 billion to Ukraine in total this year.

The United States enforced financial sanctions against President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin while pouring money and arms into Ukraine.

Prosecutors said Monday that a US judge authorized prosecutors to seize an $90 million Airbus (AIR.PA). plane belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrei Skoch.

In 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Skoch for his alleged connections to Russian organised crime groups. In the aftermath of Russia's invasion, Skoch was subject to additional sanctions.

According to court papers, the plane is currently in Kazakhstan. The American Embassy in Kazakhstan did not respond to our request for comment.

Russia claims it is conducting a "special military operations" in Ukraine to eliminate nationalists and protect Russian speaking communities. The West and Ukraine describe Russia's actions in Ukraine as an unprovoked war against aggression.

The conflicts have displaced millions of people, left thousands dead, and destroyed cities, towns, and villages.

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