Russian troops fire at Kharkiv's nuclear research facility; IAEA says monitoring situation

As the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine has entered its second month, Russian troops have now fired at a nuclear research facility in the city of Kharkiv. Taking to Twitter, the Ukrainian parliament citing the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said “It is currently impossible to estimate the extent of damage due to hostilities that do not stop in the area of the nuclear installation."

It is to mention that Moscow has been accused of risking nuclear disaster in the ex-Soviet nation by launching attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, and Chernobyl. The Russian forces recently destroyed a new laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) to improve management of radioactive waste, the Ukrainian state agency responsible for the Chernobyl exclusion zone had said. Russia captured the decommissioned plant at the start of the war. 

International Atomic Energy Agency says closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi on Sunday said Ukraine's nuclear regulator has informed that Russian forces had seized Slavutychit and the it is closely monitoring the situation in a Ukrainian city where many people live who work at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).

The IAEA chief said he was concerned over the Chornobyl NPP staff's ability to regularly rotate and return to their homes in the nearby city of Slavutych to rest. "There has been no staff rotation at the NPP for nearly a week now," the regulator said.

Slavutych is situated outside the Exclusion Zone that was established around the Chornobyl NPP after the 1986 accident. Russian troops took control of the NPP on the first day of the invasion. Earlier this week, Ukraine’s regulatory authority stated that constant Russian shelling of checkpoints in Slavutych stopped technical staff of the Chornobyl NPP from moving to and from the site.

Four killed in fresh attack on Kharkiv

At least four people were killed and three sustained injuries after Russian troops launched an artillery attack on a polyclinic delivering humanitarian aid in Kharkiv. In a Telegram post, Kharkiv Regional Administration Oleh Synehubov confirmed that on the morning of March 25, Russian forces fired artillery and Grad multiple launch rocket systems at the city clinic in Osnovianskyi district of Kharkiv. As the clinic was providing basic supplies, he accused Russian troops of "purposeful shelling" in a bid to thwart the disbursement of humanitarian supplies to civilians.