Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday called for expanded international sanctions to stop Russia from building missiles, pointing out that one of the missiles that hit his hometown of Kryvyi Rih had 50 components, mostly microelectronics, made in other countries. According to him, the representatives of Ukraine talked to the diplomats of the respective countries and provided them with a list of companies that should be included in the sanctions list.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi in his video address to his compatriots, as he does every evening, reported that 11 people, including a child, were killed as a result of rocket fire from Kryvyi Rih, and more than 30 people were injured in total. “This deliberate Russian attack on an ordinary city only once again proves a simple truth: together with our partners, we must provide the physical conditions to make Russian terror impossible,” he said, according to News.ro.

Zelensky emphasized that two conditions are necessary for this. The first is an air shield, which requires sufficiently powerful air defense systems and modern fighters. “When Russia’s ability to attack our cities and villages is physically limited by our air shield, only then will the terrorist state understand that there is no alternative to peace for all Ukrainians and the defeat of Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

The second condition is “the destruction of the base for terror, for the production of new Russian missiles,” and only sanctions can work in this regard, he noted. “Unfortunately, Russia still has the opportunity to receive the necessary components for the production of missiles from companies around the world, including from companies of some partner countries. These components are then delivered to Russia by various routes. If we take, for example, one of the missiles that hit Kryvyi Rih today, about 50 of its components – mainly microelectronics – were produced in other countries,” Zelenskyi said.

According to him, on Tuesday representatives of Ukraine met with diplomats of the respective countries. “All our partners have a list of companies that supply Russia with components for murder. We have this list. Everyone also understands how Russian terrorists are trying to deceive the world. And we expect quick conclusions and actions to stop Russian missile terror,” Zelenskyy said, advocating for the strengthening and expansion of sanctions.

“Ukraine has imposed sanctions against all Russian companies that produce missiles. Such comprehensive sanctions should be imposed worldwide against all of them. Any evasion of sanctions should also be punished at the global level. It is necessary to strengthen the control over the export of critical components as much as possible. If anyone acts as an intermediary or cooperates with Russia so that terrorists can continue to blow up homes and kill people, then such actors – whether businesses or governments – deserve a response from the world. A harsh reaction. Our partners have all the information on this matter,” Zelenskyi said.

“Certainly, it is cheaper to stop the supply of terrorist components once and for all than to constantly spend more and more money on air defense,” the Kyiv leader emphasized.

Zelenskyi says that only the return of the Zaporizhzhia NPP to the control of Ukraine can guarantee nuclear safety

He also told his compatriots on Tuesday evening about the meeting he had during the day with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, who came to Kyiv to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Plant. “We are actively working to prevent any incident at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP. As long as the occupiers are there, there is a risk for the whole world, and that is obvious,” Zelenskyy said. “Only the complete liberation of the plant and its return to the control of Ukraine can guarantee safety. And we will do everything for this,” Zelensky promised.

He also welcomed the fact that the IAEA offered to send a group of experts to Ukraine to assess the consequences of the destruction of the dam and other structures at the Kakhovskaya HPP. “The world should know in detail what is happening and what crime Russia has committed against nature and people. I hope that IAEA experts will start working in the near future,” Zelenskyy said.

UN nuclear security chief Raphael Grossi visited Kyiv on Tuesday before visiting Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russia and is located near where a giant dam on the Dnipro River was damaged and breached last week by an explosion.

The IAEA on Sunday requested access to a site near the station to check water levels after the reservoir lost much of its water due to the collapse of the Kakhovka dam downstream. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant uses a cooling pool to prevent potentially catastrophic overheating of its six reactors.

The Ukrainian NPP reported on Tuesday that the reservoir level is stable and the water is high enough. As of Tuesday morning, the water level was 16.67 meters, which, according to Energoatom, is “sufficient to meet the needs of the plant.”

In a conversation with journalists in Kyiv, Raffaelo Grossi also said that there is no immediate danger, but it is a “serious situation”. Grossi also said he was “very concerned” that the nuclear plant could be seized by a Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Russia. He added that there was no indication that Russian forces had moved heavy military equipment to the site, but did not rule out the possibility and said he would find out on the ground.

How is the counterattack going?

Speaking about the counteroffensive, Zelenskyi in his speech on Tuesday evening noted that “progress” is being made and thanked the soldiers for protecting and “advancing the positions” of Ukraine. At the same time, he noted that the battles are extremely difficult, especially “in the conditions of aviation and artillery superiority of the occupiers” and emphasized that for now they are moving forward in small steps.

“I thank everyone in our society who understands that the liberation of our country from the occupiers requires tough, heroic and intense actions, which day by day, step by step, give the necessary strength to our offensive,” Zelensky concluded his speech on Tuesday evening. not before thanking the United States for the new $325 million military support package announced during the day, consisting of artillery elements, armored vehicles, ammunition for the HIMARS systems.

Vladimir Putin, who spoke to journalists and bloggers covering the war in the Kremlin on Tuesday, emphasized Ukraine’s huge losses and denied any progress in the counteroffensive, but acknowledged that Russian forces had lost dozens of tanks.

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