Ukraine Live Briefing: Satellite images show damage at Crimea base; U.N. could discuss nuclear plant

 The Washington Post

Ukraine Live Briefing: Satellite images show damage at Crimea base; U.N. could discuss nuclear plant

By Ellen Francis, Sean Fanning, Robyn Dixon and Adam Taylor 

Updated August 11, 2022 at 1:27 p.m. EDT|Published August 11, 2022 at 4:08 a.m. EDT

A satellite image shows damaged Russian aircraft at the Crimean Peninsula’s Saki Air Base after an explosion on Aug. 9. (Planet Labs Pbc/AP)

Satellite images appeared to show charred aircraft after blasts at a Russian base in Crimea, and the U.N. Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.

Craters can be seen near a runway in aerial images of the Saki air base in Crimea, a region that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The pictures, by U.S.-based Planet Labs, were followed by more images from Maxar showing part of the base burned out, along with destroyed fighter and bomber aircraft. The images emerged a day after a Ukrainian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post that Ukrainian special forces were behind the attack on the Russian base. One person was killed and 13 injured, including two children, Russian media said.

Russia and the United States are negotiating a prisoner exchange, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said, confirming that talks are ongoing, without elaborating. Washington has urged Moscow to accept a deal to free WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was handed a 9½-year prison sentence in Russia. The Kremlin signaled willingness to discuss a potential exchange last week while warning the Biden administration against conducting diplomacy in public.

Russia requested a U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday over the Zaporizhzhia plant. The head of the U.N. atomic energy watchdog has appealed for access to the plant and warned of the need to avert “nuclear disaster.” Kyiv and Moscow are accusing each other of shelling the nuclear facility, which Russian forces captured earlier in the war.

Ukraine plans to evacuate two-thirds of residents from the areas under its control in Donetsk before winter. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told a news conference on Thursday that about 220,000 people, including 52,000 children, could be evacuated from the area, in part because of concerns about their ability to keep warm as temperatures drop in the war-ravaged region.

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Ukraine’s Defense Ministry mocked Russians over the blasts in Crimea, although Kyiv has not officially claimed responsibility. On Twitter, it advised “our valued Russian guests not to visit” the peninsula, sharing a video of beach resorts that said: “You had a few options this summer … you chose Crimea. Big mistake.” Ukrainian officials have used social media extensively as part of the information war.

Two separate explosions at the Crimean base suggest a potential attack rather than an accident in Tuesday’s incident, according to British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

Missiles hit the city of Nikopol and killed two people, according to the regional Dnipropetrovsk governor. He said seven people were injured and dozens of buildings were damaged in the city near Zaporizhzhia during a second day of Russian strikes.

War in Ukraine: What you need to know

The latest: The United Nations has expressed hope that the first grain shipments from blockaded Ukrainian ports could start Friday. However, the exact coordinates needed to ensure a safe passage for ships were still being negotiated on Thursday, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said.

The fight: Russia’s recent operational pause, which analysts identified in recent weeks as an effort to regroup troops before doubling down on Ukraine’s south and east, appears to be ending. Russia appears set to resume ground offensives, with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu telling troops on Saturday to intensify attacks “in all operational sectors” of Ukraine.

The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts.

Photos: Post photographers have been on the ground from the very beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work.

How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating.

Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video.

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