Will the US now supply Tomahawk missiles, with a range of 1,600 km (994 miles), to Ukraine?

Wednesday’s Coverage: Zelensky Warns of “Critical” Situation at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant After Week-Long Outage

UPDATE 0742 GMT:

The European Union failed to reach consensus on Wednesday on a proposed €140 billion ($164.5 billion) “reparations loan” to Ukraine, drawn from frozen Russian assets.

At the Copenhagen defense and security summit, Belgium refused to lift its opposition and France and Luxembourg expressed concern over the legal implications.

Other EU leaders said they are willing to accept the general principle, but the European Commission needs to investigate further the legal and fiscal issues, said three officials.

The officials said it is very unlikely the Commission will present a formal legal proposal to EU leaders when they meet in three weeks’ time in Brussels.

With Belgium benefiting from tax revenues on the Russian assets, collected by its financial institution Euroclear, Prime Minister Bart De Wever said the EU must “mutualise” risk and provide more protection should Moscow take legal action.

“We have to flesh out the full proposal much more,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters. “It is absolutely clear that…the risk has to be put on all our shoulders.”

UPDATE 0723 GMT:

At least four civilians have been killed and 25 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 53 of 86 drones. The other 31 struck six locations.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, one person was slain and 15 wounded amid a missile strike (see 0608 GMT).

In the Kherson region in the south, two civilians were murdered and four injured as Russian attacks targeted critical and social infrastructure, damaging an apartment building and 10 houses.

Casualties were also reported in the Odesa, Smy, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

UPDATE 0716 GMT:

The Russian energy outlet Seala says oil refineries were facing a 38% decrease in their primary capacity as of last Sunday, largely because of Ukrainian drone strikes.

Seala estimated that Russia’s total available capacity for gasoline and diesel fuel production fell by 6% in August and another 18% in September, reaching historic lows.

UPDATE 0608 GMT:

At least one civilian has been murdered and 15 injured, including a 4-year-old child, by a Russian missile strike on the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.

The missile hit the center of Balakliia around 7:05 p.m. in a residential area next to a five-story apartment building.

UPDATE 0602 GMT:

Returning from the European Union’s defense and security summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has cited progress in candidacy for EU membership.

Zelensky said Kyiv has finished its internal screening process for EU legislation and is “fully ready to open Cluster 1” in membership talks.

The President also called for European support for the candidacy of Ukraine’s neighbor Moldova.

“Europe has to keep its promises – just as candidate countries do their part. Thank you, and we are counting on results,” he said.

UPDATE 0544 GMT:

A Russian attack on an energy facility on Wednesday blacked out the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine, the site of the world’s worst radiation disaster in April 1986.

The Russians struck a substation in Slavutych, a satellite town built to house evacuated plant personnel following the disaster. Power was cut to the town and parts of the Chernihiv region.

The Ukraine Energy Ministry reported an “emergency situation” at several facilities within the Chernobyl plant. The “New Safe Confinement”, which isolates the destroyed 4th reactor and prevents the release of radioactive materials, was without power for more than three hours.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky noted:

The Russians could not have been unaware that a strike on the facilities in Slavutych would have such consequences for Chornobyl. And it was a deliberate strike, in which they used more than 20 drones — according to preliminary estimates.

Meanwhile, the outage at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine is in a 9th day, following Russia shelling that damaged power lines.

The plant is Europe’s largest with six reactors. Backup diesel generators are in operation for cooling and safety, but the International Atomic Energy Agency says the situation may not be tenable.

Zelensky, who has warned of a “critical” situation, posted:

The Russians are doing absolutely nothing to rectify the situation or allow Ukrainian specialists to restore external power to the ZNPP, which should normally operate continuously.

Russia is intentionally creating a risk of radiological incidents, taking advantage, unfortunately, of the weak stance of the IAEA and Director General Rafael Grossi, as well as the dispersed global attention.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: The US will begin provision of intelligence to Ukraine supporting long-range missile strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure.

Officials told the Wall Street Journal that Donald Trump has authorized the Pentagon and intelligence agencies to aid Ukraine. The US is urging NATO allies to expand similar cooperation.

The sources said the intelligence will allow Ukraine to target “refineries, pipelines, power stations, and other infrastructure far from its borders”, further weakening Russia’s economy.

They noted that the Administration is still considering the delivery of Tomahawk and Barracuda missiles. “We are awaiting written guidance from the White House before sharing the necessary intelligence,” one official said.

The Tomahawks have a precision-strike range of up to 1,600 km (994 miles). The Barracuda’s range, from 110 to 926 km, depends on the version and whether it is launched from the air or from sea.