A Russian soldier stands guard at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, May 2022 (Getty)

Friday’s Coverage: Kyiv Joins Board of UN Nuclear Agency IAEA

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1442 GMT:

Ukraine has signed 20 agreements and memoranda with foreign partners on the manufacture of drones, repair, and production of armored vehicles, and ammunition.

The arrangements were confirmed at the First International Defense Industries Forum in Kyiv.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said, “I am sure that today’s forum will have an important impact on the future of Ukraine.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted:

UPDATE 1142 GMT:

Reuters publishes stories of Cuban men recruited by Russia to fight on the frontline in Ukraine — and of the effect on the families and communities they leave behind.

Russian recruiters are paying signing bonuses of about 200,000 roubles ($2,040) — more than 100 times the average monthly Cuban State salary of 4,209 pesos ($17).

A resident of La Federal, a community of about 800 people outside Havana with 25% unemployment, says, “You can count on one hand [the men] who are left. Necessity is what is driving this.”

Russia’s effort escalated after a May decree by Vladimir Putin allowing foreigners, if they enlisted on year-long contracts, to receive Russian citizenship through a fast-track process. Their spouses, children, and parents also qualify.

Early this month Cuba finally arrested 17 people connected with the Russian recruitment.

UPDATE 0951 GMT:

Russian fire has killed photographer Volodymyr Myroniuk near Kurdiumivka in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Ukranian national Mironyuk had worked as a long-haul truck driver in the US and held American citizenship. A nature photographer, “he felt the call to photograph heroes” as Ukraine defended itself against Vladimir Putin’s invasion, said journalist Yurii Butusov.

He came to the front without any permission because he loved the warriors, felt them, and gained trust easily. When needed, he took up a gun or drove, more than once directly participating in combat as a volunteer….

He conducted himself at the front as an ordinary fighter, and thus had the opportunity to shoot where there was maximum risk.

Myroniuk told Butosov of his photos being among the last images of frontline fighters during their lives, “Several times, it was so that the only photo left of a person on their grave is mine. I feel useful to be among them and I’m proud of it.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: The member states of the UN’s nuclear agency have called for Russian withdrawal from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — Europe’s largest complex — in occupied southern Ukraine.

The resolution on nuclear safety, drafted by Canada, Finland and Costa Rica, was supported by 69 countries at Thursday’s general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

They said Russia should “immediately cease all actions” at the plant, occupied in the first days of Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion, and withdraw military and other unauthorized personnel. Moscow must enable Ukraine’s State nuclear operator to resume full control of the six dormant reactors.

The resolution also says the IAEA must be enabled to ensure the safe and secure operation of the complex, carrying out efficient and effective implementation of security guarantees.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed “a decisive step” in protecting the plant from “Russian nuclear terror”. Energy minister Herman Haluschenko said, “We are grateful to our partners, to every country for voting for adherence to guarantees of nuclear and radiation safety.”

The conference also elected Ukraine as one of 11 new countries on the IAEA’s 35-member Board of Governors for the 2023-2024 term. Kyiv was last on the Board from 2009 to 2011.

Russian occupiers have turned the Zaporizhzhia complex into a military base, using the position to fire at Ukrainian-held territory across the Dnipro River.

Amid shelling, power has been periodically cut to the plant, threatening the cooling of the dormant reactors. In July, IAEA inspectors found mines at the complex, backing up Ukrainian concerns that Russia could set off an explosion similar to the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam on June 6.

The Russians have also been accused of harassing and even abducting senior staff of the plant, consolidating its takeover under the supervision of Moscow’s officials.