March 29, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has arrived at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), according to Ukraine's state nuclear power plant operator Energoatom.

It is the second time that Grossi has visited the nuclear power plant since it was occupied by Russian forces.  

Grossi told CNN earlier Wednesday that military action is increasing around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia has said it is ready to discuss the safety situation at the plant with international observers after President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of "radiation blackmail."

On Monday, Grossi met with Zelensky, who was visiting the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions. Zelensky thanked Grossi for his support in his nightly address.

CNN's Anna Chernova contributed reporting.

Russia is committed to preventing nuclear war and confrontation between nuclear-armed powers, the Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, said Wednesday, according to Russian state media TASS. 

"(Russia) is convinced of the need to prevent any military confrontation between countries possessing nuclear weapons,” Patrushev said during a meeting in New Delhi, according to TASS.

Patrushev said Russia would continue fighting in Ukraine until all of Moscow's goals are met. He also warned that “the provocative behavior of the West in the context of the crisis in Ukraine can lead to catastrophic consequences."

Patrushev specifically cited the "steadily increasing military assistance to Ukraine from the United States and other Western states."

Nuclear weapons potentially on the move: Patrushev's comments come after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that the Kremlin plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Ukraine's northern neighbor. US President Joe Biden called those comments "worrying" and "disturbing" yesterday.

The war in Ukraine has put a huge strain on the country's healthcare system and has had a particularly devastating impact on people living with intellectual disabilities and their families. Their conditions are often invisible to the general public and remain widely misunderstood in Ukraine. 

The community was suffering from a chronic shortage of support services even before the Russian invasion began last February. With resources diverted towards the war effort, the few that did exist are struggling to cope.

“I have been told by officials that care and support for people with intellectual disabilities and their families is ‘a luxury’ during wartime. So, we will have to wait until after the war to have this luxury,” said Raisa Kravchenko, the president of the All Ukrainian NGO Coalition for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.

Read the full article here:

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The Ukrainian mayor of the occupied city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, said explosions were heard in the southern city early Wednesday after Russia-backed officials reported shelling by Kyiv's forces.

Earlier, Russia-backed officials said Ukrainian forces shelled a locomotive depot in the city early Wednesday, causing damage to infrastructure and power supply suspensions. Fedorov said power was lost in Melitopol's northern and western districts as well as some surrounding villages.

No casualties were reported.

Melitopol is a hub for Russian occupying forces, located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the front lines.

This post has been updated with additional information.

Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile units have shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber near the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The aircraft was destroyed around 1:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, the ministry said.

CNN cannot independently verify the claim. 

The report comes as Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, said the country will defend Bakhmut “as long as we need it in terms of military defense tasks."

Frontline situation: Russian forces control access to both Bakhmut and the nearby town of Avdiivka on three sides. They have made marginal gains in recent weeks but have been unable to encircle Ukrainian troops in either place. Most of the eastern front lines have changed little in the first three months of the year.

The power supply was disconnected in the occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine after it was shelled by Ukrainian forces early Wednesday, a Russia-appointed official.

Melitopol is a hub for Russian occupying forces, located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the front lines.

Earlier in the day, the Melitopol city administration reported damage to infrastructure following shelling of a locomotive depot, but no casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit Ukraine in an interview with the Associated Press published on Wednesday.

Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are close allies and have strengthened economic and political ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year.

Following Xi's state-visit to Moscow earlier this month, the Chinese and Russian leaders reiterated their alignment across a host of issues but their talks yielded no breakthrough on resolving the Ukraine conflict

China has attempted to position itself as a peace broker on Ukraine, releasing its position on a “political solution” to the conflict with calls for a ceasefire and peace talks.

Zelensky on Bakhmut: Speaking about the months-long battle for the eastern city, Zelensky told the AP that a Ukrainian defeat would spur on Russia’s propaganda effort and embolden Putin to “push” forward more aggressively. 

Russia has deployed thousands of military personnel to start drills with the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system, its Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The Novosibirsk missile formation is participating in the exercises and the Strategic Missile Forces are conducting a “comprehensive control inspection” of the Omsk missile association, the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

More than 3,000 servicemen and about 300 units of military equipment are involved in the exercise, the statement said.

Some context: Russian President Vladimir Putin has aimed to make the Yars missile system part of the country's "invincible" weapons and the mainstay of the ground-based component of its nuclear arsenal, according to Reuters.

A locomotive depot in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine was hit by Ukrainian shelling Wednesday morning, the city's administration said. 

The Melitopol city administration reported damage to infrastructure, but no casualties.