A Russian soldier at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine, August 4, 2022 (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Thursday’s Coverage: 34 of 35 Drones Downed in Latest Russian Attacks

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1337 GMT:

The Netherlands will send an initial set of 18 F-16 fighters jets to Ukraine.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted after a phone conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

UPDATE 1253 GMT:

An executive order by US President Joe Biden imposes secondary sanctions on foreign banks who support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A “senior official” said the US was sending a message to financial institutions that they have “a very stark choice”.

Ultimately, for almost any bank in the world, you give them the choice between continuing to sell a modest amount of goods to Russia’s military-industrial complex or being connected to the US financial system.

They’re going to choose being connected to the US financial system, given that our economy is far bigger, and our currency is the one used around the world.

UPDATE 1018 GMT:

The Wall Street Journal reports that Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of Russia’s State Security Council, organized the assassination of Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in August.

The Journal’s summary is based on interviews with Western intelligence agencies, former US and Russian security and intelligence officials, and former Kremlin officials.

It confirms that Prigozhin’s private jet was downed, north of Moscow, by a small bomb placed under a wing on August 23. The agencies and officials assure that the Kremlin’s denial of involvement, with Vladimir Putin suggesting that a hand grenade had detonated onboard, is false.

Prigozhin was killed exactly two months after his fighters rebelled amid their chief’s demand for the resignations of Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and the commander of the Ukraine invasion, Gen. Valery Geramisov.

In their 36-hour rebellion, the mercenaries seized the city of Rostov-on-Don, including the headquarters of the Southern Military Command overseeing the invasion, and advanced within 200 km (125 miles) of Moscow. Prigozhin then agreed with Putin, in a deal brokered by Belarus, to halt the operations.

UPDATE 0821 GMT:

Ukraine’s Air Force says air defenses downed 24 of 28 Iran-made attack drones fired by Russia overnight.

Earlier, officials in Kyiv reported that two civilians were injured, with one hospitalized, and fires set in a high-rise residential block and a two-story house (see 0730 GMT).

UPDATE 0812 GMT:

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke of discussions about the proposed €50 billion European Union fund to support Ukraine’s financial and economic systems through 2027.

Last week Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a long-time ally of Vladimir Putin, vetoed the fund’s creation. The EU has scheduled a summit for February 1 to complete budget revision, including the authorization of the assistance.

Zelenskiy also spoke by phone with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday, discussing safety of shipping in the Black Sea and inviting a UN representative to participate in the forthcoming summit on the Ukraine Peace Formula.

UPDATE 0749 GMT:

The St. Petersburg bookstore Vse Svobodny has been forced by police to remove the word “Peace” from its front window.

The store put up the phrase “Peace to the World!” soon after the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In March 2023, an attacker shot a bullet through the window, which was replaced after a fundraiser with the word “Peace” remaining.

On December 17, an unknown person scrawled the letter “Z” — the symbol for Vladimir Putin’s invasion — over “Peace”.

UPDATE 0730 GMT:

Russia has launched Iran-made attack drones on Kyiv for the third time in six days.

The overnight attack injured two civilians, one of whom was hospitalized. A fire was started in the upper floors of a high-rise residential building. Three apartments were partially destroyed.

A two-story house was also set ablaze.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia’s forces have again restricted the International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspections of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine.

Zaporizhzhia was seized by the Russians in the first weeks of the February 2022 invasion. It is Europe’s largest nuclear plant with six reactors. Five are in cold shutdown, while the sixth is in hot shutdown to provide steam and heat to the nearby town of Enerhodar.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi reported on Thursday that inspectors were denied access to reactor rooftops on December 19 because of “security concerns”. The inspectors have previously been able to see the roofs of three reactors but not of the other three this year.

The IAEA team was again blocked from the northwestern part of the turbine hall of Reactor 5 on Monday, despite a request made before the visit. Inspectors have not been able to see the northwestern part of any of the six turbine halls since mid-October.

No explanation was given by the Russian occupiers of the denials. However, much of Zaporizhzhia has been turned into a military base, used to launch attacks across the Dnipro River on Ukrainian-held territory.

Amid the Russian attacks, power lines to the nuclear complex have been damaged on multiple occasions, forcing the plant to rely on backup diesel generators to avoid damage to the reactors.

The IAEA head noted that inspectors have “continued to hear explosions from outside the ZNPP site, including six powerful blasts on Wednesday evening”.

He said the IAEA is paying close attention to the maintenance situation at the plant. Its experts have been informed that the 2024 maintenance plan is almost complete, but the Russians are not allowing them to study it.