Restarting Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant requires end to military threats: Russian official

The restart of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant requires the elimination of all military threats and destructive actions against the facility, said Alexey Likhachev, director general of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, on Friday.

The delegations from Rosatom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held talks on Friday in Kaliningrad, Russia, discussing the operational status of the nuclear plant.

Likhachev stated that the nuclear plant's infrastructure has been attacked multiple times, resulting in damage to the energy system of Enerhodar City, where the plant is situated. Russia is preparing to restart the nuclear plant and secure power generation, but the plant can only resume operations after all military threats and destructive actions have been eliminated.

The nuclear plant operates four units fueled by the American nuclear power company Westinghouse Electric. Likhachev noted that Russia has the option to either continue using this fuel or, if necessary, to unload and return it. He has also sought the mediation of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on this issue.

Grossi said attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant or any other nuclear facility are unacceptable, and the IAEA will continue to uphold an objective position.

He previously stated that due to a lack of stable electricity supply and cooling water, it is currently not possible to restart the nuclear plant.

According to Russian media reports, five Ukrainian military drones attacked Enerhodar City on Friday. Two drones were neutralized, one was destroyed, and two crashed. The attack did not result in any fires, building damage, or casualties.

Ukraine has not responded to the incident yet.

Moreover, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that from 14:30 on Friday to 0:00 on Saturday, the Russian air defense forces intercepted and shot down 82 Ukrainian drones in Moscow Oblast, Kursk Oblast, and Bryansk Oblast.

Following that, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that the Russian air defense system had shot down at least four drones targeting the city.

According to the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, temporary restrictions on aircraft takeoffs and landings have been implemented at Moscow Domodedovo Airport and Zhukovsky International Airport.

In the early hours of Saturday, the Ukrainian Air Force issued drone attack alerts via social media for various regions in Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Khmelnytskyi. Meanwhile, the air force also issued alerts indicating that the Russian military might potentially use ballistic weapons from the northeast direction.

Restarting Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant requires end to military threats: Russian official

Restarting Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant requires end to military threats: Russian official

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight