EXTRAORDINARY ONLINE Big change in the Russian army! This is the most significant release since the invasion of Ukraine – Topky.sk

Live from Ukraine A catastrophe at the Zaporizhia power plant would threaten the whole of Europe, says Zelensky ONLINE 18:30 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must “urgently” be allowed to carry out an inspection at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in the south of Ukraine, which was occupied by Russian troops. This was announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday. The occupation of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by the Russian army “represents a serious threat to the safety and security of this facility and increases the risk of a nuclear accident or incident,” the head of NATO told journalists. “It is urgent to allow an inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency and ensure the withdrawal of all Russian troops,” Stoltenberg continued. According to the head of NATO, the situation at the power plant “threatens the population of Ukraine, neighboring states and the international community”. Photo gallery (4) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
Source: TASR/AP Photo/Olivier Matthys 17:30 Sergej Aksionov, the leader of Russia-annexed Crimea, announced on Wednesday that the FSB security service had dismantled a six-member terrorist cell of the banned Islamist group. Aksionov’s announcement on the Telegram social network came a day after a series of attacks in Crimea that destroyed a rail hub used to supply Russian troops as well as their military base. “They are all detained. The activity of the terrorists was coordinated, as expected, from the territory of the terrorist state of Ukraine,” said Aksionov, who was elected prime minister after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014. 17:10 Ukraine expects to arrive at the port of Chornomorsk in on Wednesday, five ships will load up to 70,000 tons of agricultural products. It will be the largest convoy of ships since the conclusion of the agreement on the export of grain from Ukraine, which was mediated by the United Nations (UN). The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority (AMPU) said the cargo would include wheat, corn and sunflower oil. 16:15 The Russian Black Sea Fleet has a new commander, the Russian media claim. This was reported by the Reuters agency on Wednesday with reference to the Russian agency RIA Novosti, for which an unnamed source stated this. According to an unnamed source, the current commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Igor Osipov, was to be replaced by Viktor Sokolov. Allegedly, he was already introduced to a member of the military council in the port of Sevastopol. If the information from the Russian agency is confirmed, it would be the most significant dismissal of a member of the Russian army since the invasion of Ukraine, writes Reuters. The possible change in the Russian command occurred at a time when there are explosions at military facilities in Crimea. Kyiv has so far been reticent in responding to questions about whether the Ukrainian armed forces are behind these attacks. However, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s office, Andriy Jermak, indicated on Tuesday that this is the case. One of the sources told RIA Novosti that it is “normal” that the Russian army did not publicly announce the change in the commanding post of the Black Sea Fleet, since Russia is currently leading the so-called a special military operation. 15:30 The current leader of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, announced that they are still looking for the perpetrators of the fire at the Russian base, a helicopter was deployed to fight the flames on Wednesday, and the ammunition is still exploding. Russia claims that Tuesday’s attack was caused by “sabotage”. The attack on the base of the occupiers was carried out by Ukrainian special forces operating directly on the territory of Crimea. 15:00 Fires at the Russian base near the town of Dzhankoy in the north of the Crimean Peninsula were still burning and ammunition was exploding on Wednesday. At the same time, more than 24 hours have passed since the Ukrainian attack on this base, reported the portal of the British channel Sky News. In the chaotic situation after the attack, approximately 3,000 people were evacuated from the base and its surroundings. Until recently, Crimea was a safe territory from which Russia attacked Ukraine, and many Russians also spent their summer vacations here. This Ukrainian territory was annexed by Moscow in 2014. 13:23 At the meeting of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with UN Secretary General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, diplomatic ways of ending the war in Ukraine will also be discussed, according to Ankara. The DPA agency reported on this on Wednesday. The topic of the meeting, which will take place on Thursday in Lviv, will also be “ending the war between Ukraine and Russia through diplomatic channels”, Erdogan’s office announced on Tuesday. The UN is much more reserved in connection with possible negotiations with Zelensky on ending the fighting, DPA notes. “There are several issues that will be addressed: The conflict in general, the need for a political solution to this conflict,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in New York when asked if there were discussions on permanent ceasefire negotiations. 13:19 Chinese soldiers will take part in joint exercises in Russia with the Russian armed forces and the armies of other countries, including India, Belarus and Tajikistan. This was announced on Wednesday by the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Reuters reports. According to the ministry, China’s participation in joint military exercises is part of a bilateral agreement with Russia and “is not related to the current international and regional situation”. China has also participated in similar maneuvers led by Russia in recent years. “The aim (of the joint exercises) is to deepen the practical and friendly cooperation of the participating countries, increase the level of strategic cooperation and strengthen the ability to respond to various security threats,” China’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement. 12:58 The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, admitted on Wednesday that Russian troops “continue to advance along the entire front line” in Donbass, but according to him, the Ukrainians have the situation under control. American television CNN informs about it. Zaluzhny announced this after a conversation with Canadian Chief of General Staff Wayne Donald Eyre. According to Zalužný, the Russians carry out 700 to 800 artillery attacks a day and fire a total of 40,000 to 60,000 artillery shells. According to CNN, these numbers correspond with the estimates of Western analysts. During July, the intensity of Russian shelling was lower. “The enemy is primarily focused on pushing our troops out of the Donetsk region. The most intense situation is now on the Avdijivka-Pisky-Marjinka axis,” added the head of the Ukrainian army. The mentioned line is 25 kilometers long and is located a few kilometers west of Donetsk. 12:05 p.m. On the front line in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, two civilians were killed and seven others were injured in Russian artillery attacks. According to Ukrainian officials, the Russian army attacked several towns and villages, writes AP and CNN. 12:02 p.m. Russian troops launched rocket attacks on the Odesa region on the Black Sea coast in southwestern Ukraine on Wednesday night, reports the British newspaper The Guardian. Odesa regional administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said Russian forces fired several rockets, injuring at least three people. The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported in a statement that missiles fired from Russian Tu-22M3 strategic aircraft caused a fire in the Odesa region in a recreation center on an area of ​​more than 600 square meters, which also affected several private buildings. 09:45 On Tuesday, 3,087 people from Ukraine crossed into Slovakia through border crossings. Of these, there were 797 men, 1726 women and 564 children. Zuzana Eliášová, spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, informed about it. According to the spokeswoman, 188 applicants applied for temporary shelter. On Tuesday, 3,474 people crossed border crossings on their way out of Slovakia to Ukraine. “All activities related to refugees from Ukraine were ensured by 22 policemen, 16 firefighters, 76 customs officers, 84 soldiers, 48 ​​volunteers and 25 employees of the migration office,” the spokeswoman explained. 06:20 Ukrainian state nuclear company Enerhoatom said that its website was targeted by Russian hackers. According to her, the attack lasted three hours. It did not cause significant problems, Enerhoatom said according to Reuters. The company described Tuesday’s cyber attack on its website as the largest so far since the beginning of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. 06:18 The ship Razoni with a cargo of corn, which sailed from Ukraine as the first vessel after the beginning of the Russian invasion of the country, anchored in the Syrian port of Tartus. This was reported by the Reuters agency, citing a shipping source and satellite data. The vessel’s location was unclear in recent days because the vessel’s crew turned off monitoring equipment, according to the AP. The ship Razoni, sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone, had 26,000 tons of corn on board. It was originally headed to Lebanon, but the customer there refused to accept the corn due to the many-month delay in delivery. 06:12 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi will meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Lviv in the west of the country on Thursday. It was reported by the AP and Reuters agencies with reference to the UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric and Ankara. Top officials will deal with agreements on the supply of Ukrainian grain to world markets, which are supposed to help alleviate the global grain crisis, and they will discuss the possibilities of ending the nearly half-year-long Russian invasion of Ukraine, AP writes. According to Dujarric, the trio of leaders will probably also discuss the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which has been occupied by the Russian army since March, and which has recently received reports of shelling near it, for which Moscow and Kyiv blame each other. Navalny calls for more extensive sanctions against Russian oligarchs Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Tuesday called for systematic sanctions measures against Russian oligarchs supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military operation in Ukraine. AFP informs about it. In comments on the social network, Kremlin critic Navalny described the Western sanctions against Russia as insufficient. According to him, only 46 people from the list of the 200 richest people in Russia, published by Forbes magazine, were affected by the measures of the USA, the EU or the United Kingdom. “This doesn’t look like an all-out war against Putin’s oligarchs,” he said. According to Navalny, the head of the energy company Gazprom, Alexey Miller, is still not on the EU sanctions list, and another oligarch, Roman Abramovich, is avoiding US sanctions despite the fact that his companies supply metal to the Russian Ministry of Defense. “I ask all voters and legislators in the EU, the UK, the US and Canada to put pressure on the executive branch of power and force it to stop engaging in demagoguery and urgently adopt mass personal sanctions against Putin’s thieves,” said Navalny, whose remarks were reported by AFP. According to him, the EU, USA and Britain should ban entry to their territory for 20 years to anyone who supports the Russian military offensive in Ukraine. Navalny is currently serving a nine-year sentence in a penal colony located near the Russian city of Vladimir. The Russian opposition leader was convicted in March of this year on embezzlement charges that his allies say are politically motivated.