Chris Lange, FISM News
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The leader of a team of UN nuclear watchdog inspectors vowed to continue working to secure the vulnerable Ukrainian nuclear power station despite a night of heavy shelling in the region.
The International Atomic Energy Agency mission made the dangerous trek into Ukraine on Wednesday to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility. Continued fighting at and around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, however, delayed the mission, underscoring the risks the team of 14 inspectors face as they race against the clock to avert a possible radiation leak of epic proportions.
“There has been increased military activity, including this morning until very recently,” said Rafael Grossi, who is directing the mission, the Associated Press reported Thursday. He said that following a briefing by the Ukrainian military, he decided to keep working, despite the risks involved.
“But weighing the pros and cons and having come so far, we are not stopping,” he vowed.
Ukraine’s Enerhoatom energy company said Russian mortar shelling led to the shutdown of one of its reactors by its emergency protection system and damaged a backup power supply line. The company also reported that a plant reactor that ceased to operate was switched to diesel generators.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia is doing everything in its power to ensure the mission’s success.
Speaking at an event in Moscow, Lavrov said, “We are doing everything to ensure that this station is safe, that it functions safely. And for the mission there to carry out all its plans,” according to Reuters.
Russia, China launch war games
Russia on Thursday announced the launch of weeklong war games with China and other nations in a show of military might and increased defense cooperation between Moscow and Beijing amid heightened tensions between both countries and the U.S.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the joint maneuvers will take place at seven firing ranges in eastern Russia and the Sea of Japan and involve 50,000 troops from ex-Soviet nations, China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, and Syria. The war games will feature over 5,000 weapons units, including aircraft and warships, the Associated Press reported.
Iran ‘quietly’ supplying Russia with drones
Meanwhile, Russian cargo planes have “quietly picked up the first of scores of Iranian-made combat drones” for use against Ukraine, according to a report in The Washington Post.
Transport planes loaded with two types of drones departed from Iran on Aug. 19, according to the U.S. and other intelligence reports cited by the Post.
“The unmanned aerial vehicles are capable of carrying munitions designed to attack military targets, radars, and artillery – likely meaning these new drones will be used by the Russian military to target U.S.-supplied HIMARS,” according to a 19FortyFive report.
More shipments are expected to take place in the coming weeks and months.
Pentagon announces another $182 mil in defensive aid to Ukraine
Back in Washington, the Department of Defense announced another $182 million in security assistance for Ukraine on Wednesday which will include two National Advanced Surface-To-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS.
“This $182 million contract is in support of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, specifically, Tranche Three, which tasked the Army with the procurement and delivery of two NASAMS,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a press briefing.
“As other contracts are awarded in support of the USAI, we will be sure to share that information,” he added.
Ryder also relayed that the US will host a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany next week “to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and continue our close coordination on providing the Ukrainian people with the means necessary to protect themselves against Russia’s unprovoked and illegal aggression.” Defense ministers and senior military officials from 50-plus countries are expected to attend.
Russia facing ‘severe’ troop shortages
A U.S. intelligence official has confirmed reports that Russia is grappling with “severe manpower shortages” in its six-month war with Ukraine.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told the Associated Press that the Kremlin is increasingly desperate to find more troops to send to the front lines, and has been attempting to recruit private security company employees while pressuring soldiers recovering from injuries sustained earlier in the war to return to combat.
The official added that intelligence reports indicate Russia’s Defense Ministry is planning to recruit convicted criminals to enlist “in exchange for pardons and financial compensation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week ordered his military to increase troop numbers from 137,000 to 1.15 million.