U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday said Russia should not be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, a label Ukraine has pushed for amid Russia’s ongoing invasion while Moscow has warned it would rupture U.S.-Russian ties.
Asked if Russia should be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, Biden told reporters at the White House: “No.”
Some U.S. lawmakers have also pressed for the designation.
US intelligence has assessed that Moscow is buying artillery ammunition from North Korea as sanctions begin to reduce Russia’s ability to sustain what it calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine, the New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, the UN nuclear watchdog is due to issue a report on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station later today, a day after shelling cut its electricity supplies for the second time in two weeks.
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of risking nuclear disaster by shelling near Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which officials said disrupted power lines and took the sole remaining reactor offline yesterday.
The incident came as Ukrainian forces pressed their counter-attacks in the south and east, raising the national flag over a town in Kherson province, a southern region occupied by Russia since the war’s early days.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing information supplied from Ukraine, said the plant’s backup power line had been cut to extinguish a fire but that the line itself was not damaged and would be reconnected.
The UN nuclear watchdog said the plant had enough electricity to operate safely and would be reconnected to the grid once backup power was restored.
The IAEA’s presence at the plant was reduced to two staff members from six. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi will issue a report on Ukraine, including the plant, today and then brief the UN Security Council, the IAEA said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of a near “radiation catastrophe” and said the shelling showed Russia “does not care what the IAEA will say.”
The nuclear concerns add to the ongoing energy fight between Moscow and the West since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in late February as the larger military conflict continues.
European gas prices soared yesterday as Russia kept its main gas pipeline to Germany shut, bringing fears of a bleak winter for consumers and businesses across the continent.
Moscow blames disruption to equipment repairs and maintenance caused by Western sanctions for its halt to the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1, its main pipeline to Germany.
Russia was due to reopen the pipeline on Saturday but now says an oil leak has forced it to shut indefinitely.
Pipeline operator Gazprom’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Vitaly Markelov told Reuters this morning that Nord Stream 1 would not resume shipments until Siemens Energy repaired faulty equipment.
Siemens Energy said on Saturday that it had not been commissioned to carry out repair work, and that the leak reported by Gazprom would not usually affect the operation of the pipeline.
Europe and the United States accuse Russia of using energy as a weapon and are collaborating to ensure supplies.
Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov told reporters at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that Moscow would respond to proposed price caps on Russian oil by shipping more supply to Asia.
The Kremlin warned the West that it would retaliate after Group of Seven finance ministers agreed last week to a cap to pressure Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s southern command said that four Russian ammunition depots had been destroyed in three districts of Kherson region in the previous 24 hours.
Bridges over the Dnipro river had been shelled, it added.
“Control and cover by fire of the crossings of the Dnipro river is systematic and effective,” the southern command said in a statement.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the battlefield reports.