Ukraine updates: IAEA team heads for Zaporizhzhia plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine arrived in the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the UN agency's inspectors would have access to the plant, which is held by Russia, on Thursday. 

"We are preparing for the real work which begins tomorrow," he said. "We are going to try to establish a permanent presence for the agency starting from then."

The mission, headed by Grossi, intends to inspect the plant after its territory was repeatedly shelled over the last month, with Ukraine and Russia trading blame over the attacks.

Russian forces captured the plant soon after they launched their February 24 invasion of Ukraine and it is close to the front line. 

The mission comes after extensive negotiations. "We are now finally moving after six months of strenuous efforts," Grossi told reporters before the convoy set off, adding that the mission planned to spend "a few days" at the site.

"We have a very important task there to perform — to assess the real situations there, to help stabilize the situation as much as we can," he added.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of firing on Enerhodar, a town near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, as IAEA inspectors were en route to inspect the facility.

Here's a roundup of some of the other key developments regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine on August 31.

Ukraine urges those in country's east to flee before winter

Ukraine plans to expand the number of districts on the war's front lines where civilian evacuations will be mandatory ahead of winter.

So far, the government has only ordered forced evacuations in the Donetsk region.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Kyiv is looking to expand the mandatory evacuations but urged people to leave anyway.

"I urge evacuation from Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya and part of the Kharkiv region before the onset of cold weather," Vereshchuk said.

"Those who can should leave gradually in a planned manner," she added.

The war has disrupted the basic provision of services, including water and electricity.The government feared the winter would only worsen the situation.

EU foreign ministers agree to suspend Russian visa accord

EU foreign ministers have agreed to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Russia over the country's war in Ukraine, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell announced at the end of a two-day meeting in Prague.

"This will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states. It's going to be more difficult, it's going to take longer," Borrell said.

He also said there had been a substantial increase in border crossings from Russia into neighboring states since mid-July.

"This has become a security risk for these neighboring states," Borrell added. "In addition to that, we have seen many Russians traveling for leisure and shopping as if no war was raging in Ukraine."

The suspension comes after weeks of pressure from EU countries bordering Russia to crack down on Russian nationals traveling to the bloc on Schengen visas issued by some EU member states.

Don't underestimate Russia's military strength, German defense chief warns

Germany's chief of defense has warned that the West must not underestimate Moscow's military strength, saying Russia has the scope to open up a second front should it choose to do so.

"The bulk of the Russian land forces may be tied down in Ukraine at the moment but, even so, we should not underestimate the Russian land forces' potential to open a second theater of war," General Eberhard Zorn, the highest-ranking soldier of the Bundeswehr, told Reuters in an interview.

Beyond the army, Russia also has a navy and air force at its disposal, he added.

"Most of the Russian navy has not yet been deployed in the war on Ukraine, and the Russian air force still has significant potential as well, which poses a threat to NATO too," Zorn said.

Referring to the military situation in Ukraine, Zorn said the dynamic of Russia's attack had slowed down, but Russia was still pressing steadily ahead.

German civil servants probed on Russian spy suspicion — report

German intelligence services are investigating two civil servants at the Economy Ministry on suspicion of spying for Moscow, according to German weekly Die Zeit.

Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the domestic intelligence service, opened an inquiry after senior ministry staff shared their concerns.

The two civil servants drew the attention of colleagues by showing "sympathy for the Russian view" on questions of energy policy, notably on the decision to block the approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, according to Die Zeit.

A close inspection of their resumes by authorities revealed that one of the two had studied in Russia.

The civil servants are said to have an "emotional proximity to Russia," according to the report, though as yet authorities had no "hard evidence" of spying or corruption.

Germany exports significantly more armaments in 2022 due to Ukraine war

German exports of military equipment have surged so far this year as Berlin supplies arms to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia's attack, the Economy Ministry said.

By August 24, the value of authorized military exports totaled just under €5.1 billion ($5.1 billion), up from some €2.9 billion euros at the same time last year, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, around three quarters (76%) of the value of the approved exports in the current year went to EU and NATO countries and countries such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

The remaining 24% went to the third countries, and Ukraine was the most important recipient with 56% of the export value. The country received armaments worth around €686 million ($686 million).

Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed on Monday that Germany will keep up its support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes."

Ukraine's foreign minister urges EU to ban Russian tourists

The European Union should ban Russian tourists, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, urging a step the bloc's foreign ministers gathered in Prague are unlikely to take due to deep divisions on the matter.

"A visa ban for Russian tourists and some other categories will be an appropriate response to Russia's genocidal war of aggression in the heart of Europe supported by an overwhelming majority of Russian citizens," Kuleba said in a statement emailed to Reuters news agency.

Eastern and Nordic countries strongly back a tourism ban, while Germany and France have warned their peers it would be counter-productive, saying ordinary Russians should still be allowed access to the West.

The bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell warned that the European Union must not appear to be at discord over eastern European demands for a visa ban on Russian tourists, urging member states to find common ground.

"We will have to reach an agreement and a political decision," Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a second day of an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Prague.

The EU ministers are expected to agree in principle on suspending a visa facilitation agreement with Moscow — meaning Russians would have to wait longer, and pay more, for visas — but not on an outright EU travel ban.

Ukrainian troops pushed front line back in places — UK defense ministry

Britain's Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin that the Ukrainian armed forces continued to assault Russia's Southern Grouping of Forces on several axes across the south of the country since Monday.

According to the ministry, Ukrainian formations have pushed the front line back some distance in places, exploiting relatively thinly held Russian defences.

Russia will likely now attempt to plug the gaps in its line using pre-designated mobile reserve units, the ministry said.

The intellegence bulletin also mentioned the fact that Russia continues to expedite attempts to generate new reinforcements for Ukraine.

More on the war in Ukraine

Russian energy giant Gazprom said due to maintenance on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline there would be no gas flow to Germany between August 31 and September 3. Berlin has accused Moscow of weaponizing energy supplies.

The EU will work to "define the parameters" of a collective mission to help train the Ukrainian army in fighting Russia’s invasion, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said. 

The Ukrainian football Premier League resumed play this month in a defiant move aimed at helping distract people from the horrors of the Russian invasion. A recent game between Rukh Lviv and Kharkhiv took hours to complete as air raid sirens repeatedly sounded. 

dh/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters)