August 8, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Rhea Mogul, Heather Chen, Amy Woodyatt and Aditi Sangal, CNN

Updated 2:31 a.m. ET, August 9, 2022
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8:52 p.m. ET, August 7, 2022

Zelensky rules out future negotiations if Russia holds referendums in Ukraine

From CNN's Oleksandra Ochman and Mariya Knight

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would not hold future negotiations if Russia conducts referendums in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

"Every week there are more and more reports that the occupiers are preparing for pseudo-referendums in the occupied areas of the south of our country," Zelensky said in his nightly address Sunday. "I want to say a very simple thing, everyone who helps the occupiers in any way realize their intention will be held accountable. They will bear responsibility to Ukraine."

Officials in Russian-held territories of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region have previously said they would hold referendums on joining Russia.

"The position of our state remains the same: we will not give up anything of ours," Zelensky reiterated, warning that if Russian occupiers pursue the referendums, "they will close for themselves any possibility of negotiations with Ukraine and the free world, which the Russian side will definitely need in a certain moment."
8:55 p.m. ET, August 7, 2022

Ukraine says "several missiles" hit military facilities in Vinnytsia region, victims reported

From CNN's Oleksandra Ochman

Several Russian missiles struck military facilities in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Sunday, according to the Ukrainian military.

"There are victims. The type of missiles is being clarified by the relevant services," the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a post on its official Facebook page. "The reasons for the failure of the missile warning system are being investigated."

The Air Force Command did not specify the number of victims or severity of injuries.

8:29 p.m. ET, August 7, 2022

Jessica Chastain's visit to Kyiv "extremely valuable," Zelensky says

From CNN's Mariya Knight

American actress Jessica Chastain met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.

"For us, such visits of famous people are extremely valuable," Zelensky said on his Telegram account. "Thanks to this, the world will hear, know and understand the truth about what is happening in our country even more. Thanks for the support!"

In his nightly address Sunday, Zelensky said Chastain visited a children's hospital in Kyiv and the suburb of Irpin, where she “saw with her own eyes the consequences of the Russian occupation.” 

“Her story about our war will definitely be heard,” Zelensky said. 

Irpin was the site of some of the heaviest fighting in Russia’s failed bid to capture the Ukrainian capital earlier this year. Substantial evidence has also emerged of the massacre of civilians there and nearby Bucha. 

8:17 p.m. ET, August 7, 2022

Ukrainians say multiple Russian assaults resisted in Donetsk

From CNN's Mariya Knight

The Ukrainian Military said Sunday it had inflicted losses on Russian forces in several parts of Donetsk and repelled their efforts to advance in other places.

In a briefing, the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said the Russian forces tried to conduct several assaults in Donetsk against multiple settlements near Sloviansk, but the Ukrainian forces pushed them back. 

“With offensive actions, the enemy tried to improve its tactical position near Verkhnokamianske, a village in Donetsk region, but was unsuccessful and retreated,” the General Staff said. 

The Russians also “conducted offensive and assault actions in the districts of Bakhmut, Zaitseve, Yakovlivka and Vershina but were unsuccessful and retreated,” the General Staff added, saying that fighting continues near Kodema, Krasnohorivka, Avdiivka, Pisky and Mariinka. 

The General Staff also reported that Russia is “concentrating its main efforts on preventing the advance of our troops” in the south and shelling “the entire line of contact.” 

7:01 a.m. ET, August 8, 2022

New rocket strike on Ukraine nuclear plant, as UN watchdog warns of "disaster"

From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva, Olga Voitovych and Sana Noor Haq

Ukraine accused Russian forces on Sunday of launching rockets at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, further ratcheting fears of an accident a day after the United Nations' watchdog warned that fighting at the occupied complex risked a "nuclear disaster."

It was the second time in as many days that the plant, which is the largest of its kind in Europe, was hit. Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for both attacks.

The rockets launched on Saturday night struck near a dry storage facility, where 174 casks with spent nuclear fuel are kept, according to Energoatom, Ukraine's state-run nuclear power company. Explosions blew out windows in parts of the plant and one worker was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds.

"Apparently, they aimed specifically at the containers with processed fuel, which are stored outside next to the site of shelling," the company said in a statement on Telegram.

Three radiation monitoring detectors were also damaged on Saturday, making "timely detection and response in case of aggravation of the radiation situation or leakage of radiation from spent nuclear fuel casks are currently impossible," Energoatom said.

"This time a nuclear catastrophe was miraculously avoided, but miracles cannot last forever," it added.

Kyiv has accused Russian forces of storing heavy weaponry in and launching attacks from the plant, which they took over in early March and still occupy. Moscow, meanwhile, has claimed Ukrainian troops are targeting the complex.

Read the full story here.

8:06 p.m. ET, August 7, 2022

US senators put bipartisan pressure on Biden to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism

From CNN's Aaron Pellish

A bipartisan pair of senators has called on the Biden administration to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism in response to its invasion of Ukraine, saying they would push Congress to pass a bill issuing the designation "whether or not" it had President Joe Biden's support.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" on Sunday that the designation should be made either by the President or Congress, with both of them saying Biden must intensify pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and continue aiding Ukraine amid the ongoing invasion.

"I hope the President will decide to adopt this stance voluntarily and he hasn't taken it off the table on the state-sponsored terrorism," said Blumenthal, who represents Connecticut.

Graham, of South Carolina, said he wants the Biden administration to engage with Congress in designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism but said Congress is "willing" to advance legislation calling for the designation regardless.

"I'd like to work with (the Biden administration). But whether or not we have to do legislation to make it happen — we're willing to do. I am urging the administration to act now," Graham said.

Ukraine visit: The two senators traveled together in June to Ukraine, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and called on Biden to send more humanitarian aid to the county and issue stronger sanctions in addition to designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Read more here.