Russia’s brief, armed rebellion last month demonstrated President Vladimir Putin’s weakness and his fading support among the Russian people, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
Zelenskyy, in an interview with CNN recorded Sunday, also reiterated his position that the war won’t end until Ukraine has regained all territory seized by Russia − including Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014, years before Russia invaded Ukraine more than 16 months ago.
“We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. And while Crimea is under the Russian occupation, it means only one thing − the war is not over yet,” he said.
Zelenskyy noted that Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion was able to seize military installations in two Russian cities, showing “how easy it is to do.” He added that Ukraine intelligence reports indicated that half the Russian people supported Prigozhin.
“Putin doesn’t control the situation in the regions,” Zelenskyy said. “All that vertical of power he used to have is just crumbling down.”
Developments:
∎ Ukrainian novelist-turned-war-crimes-researcher Victoria Amelina, whose works have been translated into English and at least eight languages, has died of injuries suffered in last month’s Russian missile strike on a Kramatorsk pizza restaurant, Ukraine authorities announced. The attack killed at least a dozen people and wounded scores more.
∎ The withdrawal of Wagner mercenaries from Ukraine poses no risks to Russia’s combat potential, the head of the State Duma Defense Committee told Tass on Monday. Andrey Kartapolov said Russian regular forces can replace them.
Nuke plant’s backup power line repaired, but safety ‘not sustainable’
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant has been reconnected to its only available back-up power line four months after it was lost, but the power situation at Europe’s largest nuclear plant remains extremely fragile and is “not sustainable,” the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday.
Rafael Mariano Grossi said work to reconnect the power line had been hampered by the “difficult security situation’ in Ukraine’s southern region. The ZNPP had been relying on a single main line for the external electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions. The plant, which has not generated electricity in months, had four such lines before the conflict began.
