'Extremely grave and dangerous'

Hi! I'm Julius, a Paste BN audience editor and the new voice of the Ukraine-Russia crisis newsletter. You might notice this email looks a little different. We've switched up the style of the newsletter to help bring you the most important updates out of Ukraine in a format that's a bit more accessible. 

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Nearly six months after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military has suffered an estimated 80,000 casualties and Ukrainian troops continue to fend off attacks – especially in the resource-rich Donbas region. Away from the battlefield, Western nations have condemned Russia for its invasion, accusing the country of war crimes and levying sanctions. 

This week, fighting around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, has drawn concern and criticism from international leaders. Russian troops took over the nuclear plant in southern Ukraine shortly after invading in February. 

"We demand that Russia immediately hand back full control to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine, of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as well as of all nuclear facilities within Ukraine's internationally recognized borders to ensure their safe and secure operations," foreign ministers from the Group of Seven said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Associated Press last week the situation at the plant "is completely out of control." 

"What is at stake is extremely serious and extremely grave and dangerous," Grossi said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

More updates to know:

• Guerrilla forces loyal to Kyiv in occupied areas of southeastern Ukraine are attacking Moscow-installed officials, blowing up bridges and helping the Ukrainian military by identifying key targets in an effort to challenge Russia's grip on the region.
• The U.S. is "still considering" a proposal to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, said John Kirby, the National Security Council's coordinator for strategic communications at the White House. 
• The Biden administration will send another $1 billion in security aid to Ukraine, the Pentagon said Monday. It will be the largest single shipment of security aid to the country since August 2021.