Ukraine issues warning of disaster as Russia launches new offensive in Zaporizhzhia

As Russia began shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, elevating fresh fears of a possible nuclear catastrophe, Ukrainian officials on Saturday warned about the looming disaster in the making as intense fighting broke out. Europe’s largest nuclear plant, on Jan. 21, witnessed a new offensive as invading Russian occupiers launched assaults on Ukraine's  Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast, taking “more advantageous lines and positions."

Nearly 75% of the greater Zaporizhzhia region is occupied by Russian forces. It is one of the four Ukrainian territories that Russia annexed, although Ukraine still claims a hold on some regions. Russia's President Vladimir Putin had earlier signed a decree federalizing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, located just 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the frontlines, along the Dnipro River.

Since its occupation just weeks after the invasion in February, the Zaporizhzhia plant has been subject to intense shelling and scrutiny as Ukraine alleged that the plant's staff was subjected to "psychological pressure” to obtain Russian passports as Putin declared that millions of people living there would be Russian citizens “forever.”

A drone video on January 21 showed Russian soldiers capturing the Ukrainian trenches in Donetsk with minimum tank / IFV support to counter the Ukrainian ATGM. Ukraine claimed that while the Russian forces moved forward in position with forces from 2 platoons, Ukraine's military was able to halt the advances at a maximum of 2 kilometers. Ukraine's artillery and a counterattack restored the status quo, pro-Ukraine channels claimed. 

Russia's Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of the village of Lobkove in the Zaporizhzhia region. 58th Army of the Russian forces attacked the 128th Brigade's defensive line of the Ukraine Army in Malye Shcherbaki - Stepovoe and advanced into the village of Lobkove. Conflicting claims circulated about Shcherbarky also falling under Russian control. 

“Over the past day, Russian shells have covered 21 towns and villages of the Zaporizhzhia region,” Oleksandr Starukh, governor of the region, said on Telegram on January 21 as Russians renewed the assaults on the site. “Our communities survived 166 shellings. Another 18 destroyed houses were added to the register.”

160 missile strikes on Kyiv's southeast region

Russia's Army made an official announcement that it carried out 160 missile strikes on Kyiv's southeast region. At least one woman was killed and two others were injured. Governor Starukh, in a Telegram update, derided Russian forces for nearly 160 shellings in Zaporizhzhia overnight. Russian forces launched more than 100 attacks on the border of the Sumy region. A 17-year-old boy sustained shrapnel wounds, the head of the Regional Military Administration, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, informed. 

Russian army said Saturday that it had carried out over 160 missile strikes in the southeast region of Ukraine. Credit: AP

The Kremlin, months ago, had announced that it was formally seizing Ukraine's massive nuclear power plant after its troops launched a deadly salvo of missiles, threatening the nuclear power plant's safety. The United Nations atomic watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, had asked the warring forces to put a “stop to this madness” as powerful explosions rocked Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region near the plant's vicinity. “Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately,” he warned, adding "you’re playing with fire!” 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had condemned the heavy barrage of missiles as fierce ground battles intensified in eastern Donetsk province. He had termed the attacks as "completely unacceptable," adding that the Russians needed to stop shelling Europe's largest nuclear plant. “The people who are doing this know where they are hitting," Grossi had told a French broadcaster.