Putin Ally Fans Nuke Reply after Loss of Key Ukrainian Town; IAEA Seeks Release of Ukrainian Nuclear Plant Head

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watchdog, called for the release of the director-general of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying his detention posed a threat to safety and security. Ihor Murashov had been detained by a Russian patrol on Friday.

Meanwhile, Australia on Sunday imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on 28 Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials after President Putin proclaimed the annexation of four regions of Ukraine.

“In connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement, the allied troops were withdrawn from the settlement of Krasny Lyman to more favourable lines,” Russia’s defence ministry said in its daily briefing, after Ukraine’s army said it “encircled” several thousand Russian troops near the town. Lyman, in the Donetsk region, has served for months as a logistics and transport hub anchoring Russian operations in the north of the region. Its capture would be Kyiv’s biggest gain since a lightning counter-offensive retook swathes of Kharkiv region this month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday proclaimed the annexation of four regions in Ukraine, while Kyiv said it would continue its fight to retake occupied land. Russia also vetoed a Western bid at the UN Security Council to condemn its annexations of Ukrainian territory but found no support, with China and India abstaining. Russia’s veto was a certainty but Western powers hoped to show Moscow’s isolation in its war and will now take the condemnation effort to the General Assembly, where every nation has a vote and none can kill a resolution.

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