Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 169

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 169th day, we take a look at the main developments.

A view shows a hotel building recently hit by shelling in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Russian-controlled town of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine August 8, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
A hotel hit by shelling in the Russian-controlled town of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine [File: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]

Here are the key events on Thursday, August 11.

Fighting

  • Ukraine accused Russia of firing rockets from the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, killing at least 13 people and wounding 10, in the knowledge it would be risky for Ukraine to return fire.
  • Russia launched 80 Grad rockets at the town of Marhanets across the Dnieper river from the nuclear plant on Tuesday, Valentyn Reznychenko, the governor of the central Dnipropetrovsk region said, adding that more than 20 buildings were damaged.
  • Two US newspapers cited unnamed Ukrainian officials as saying the country’s special forces had carried out an attack on Tuesday on an airbase on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, destroying military aircraft.
  • Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut killed at least six people and wounded three others, the regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Diplomacy

  • The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) economic powers have called on Moscow to immediately return Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to full Ukrainian control amid growing fears of a potential disaster.
  • China has accused the United States of being the “main instigator” of the Ukraine crisis, saying Washington’s “ultimate goal is to exhaust and crush Russia”.
  • Russian authorities raided the home of a former state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova and detained her as part of a criminal investigation for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian armed forces, her lawyer said on social media.
  • The Russian independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta said it had been fined 350,000 Russian roubles ($5,700) for “abusing media freedom”.

Economy

  • Ukraine’s overseas creditors backed its request for a two-year freeze on payments on almost $20bn in international bonds, a move that will allow it to avoid a debt default.
  • Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the move will save the country almost $6bn, helping stabilise its economy and strengthen its army.
  • The second commercial ship to arrive in a Ukrainian port since the start of Russia’s invasion has docked in the port of Chornomorsk and is ready to load grain, Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
  • Russians are snapping up Western fashion and furniture this week as H&M and IKEA sell off the last of their inventory in Russia, moving forward with their exit from the country after it sent troops into Ukraine.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies