WAR IN UKRAINE: Sept. 2, 2022
It’s the first day of school across Ukraine. However, many children will commence school online, due to the war, or not be able to attend whatsoever. Six months into the war, only about 30 percent or so of schools are reported to have bomb shelters. Millions of displaced Ukrainian children will be attending school overseas.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 191
“When hazardous sites become battlegrounds, the consequences for millions of people and the environment can be catastrophic and last many years... It is therefore time to stop playing with fire and instead take concrete measures to protect this facility, and others like it, from military operations. The slightest miscalculation could trigger devastation that we will regret for decades.””
A team from the UN nuclear watchdog arrived at a Russian-held nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine. After spending about four hours there Thursday, some members departed the plant. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, who’s leading the team, said the "plant and physical integrity of the plant" had been "violated several times". After crossing back into Ukrainian-controlled territory, he added: "We are not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, it is at the plant and it is not moving - it's going to stay there.” He did not say how many colleagues would stay or for how long. However, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that around eight to 12 inspectors would stay on, while Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom said five would stay.
Meanwhile, Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow expected the UN's nuclear inspectors to produce an unbiased report on the state of the Zaporizhzhia power plant. Russia was working to ensure the safety of the visit to the Russian-held site, he said, in comments quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax. “We are doing everything we can to make sure that the plant is safe, that it functions safely, and that the mission there carries out all its plans," he told a meeting with students in Moscow.
The Director-General, Robert Mardini, in a press conference today in Kyiv, did not mince words as to the dangers surrounding the ZNPP: “When hazardous sites become battlegrounds, the consequences for millions of people and the environment can be catastrophic and last many years. In the event of a nuclear leak, it will be difficult if not impossible to provide humanitarian assistance. It is therefore time to stop playing with fire and instead take concrete measures to protect this facility, and others like it, from military operations. The slightest miscalculation could trigger devastation that we will regret for decades.”
Government forces in Ukraine are trying to seize the initiative from Russian troops before the arrival of winter. A counter-offensive is already under way in the south and the Ukrainians are now preparing to expand that in the east to take back land lost in Donbas and around Kharkiv in the north. Quentin Sommerville and camera-journalist Darren Conway have been given exclusive access to a unit of Ukrainian troops. Read the full BBC report here
Official: Rebuilding of Ukraine should begin now. The President of the European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer spoke at "Forum 2000" in Prague and urged states to assist in the reconstruction of Ukraine as soon as possible, instead of waiting for the end of Russia's invasion. Hoyer emphasized that part of this commitment must come from the private sector as governmental institutions are limited in their ability to finance Ukraine, according to Ukrinform news agency report - Kyiv Independent
Beatings, torture, forced labor, lack of food and medical care are said to be common at the Olenivka prison in occupied eastern Ukraine. About a month ago, the prison — known officially as Correctional Colony No. 120 — became notorious when over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in an attack that both Russia and Ukraine accuse the other of carrying out. While the site has since been visited by senior Russian officials — and even U.S. actor Steven Seagal — no independent investigators have yet been allowed inside. Instead, independent analysis and reports from multiple eyewitnesses suggest abuse and torture were routine in the facility ahead of the killings. More in this Moscow Times report here
Back to School (but not for all)….
It’s the first day of school across Ukraine - a time of year which normally brings much joy to children and their parents. However, many Ukrainian children will commence school online, due to the war, or not be able to attend whatsoever. Just 40% of schools in Ukraine are able to fully reopen and some schools are having to temporarily amalgamate due to the lack of students and/or teachers. Many parents told me that, after more than six months of war, they are totally unprepared to face the prospect of having to supervise their kids online home education.
A big worry for parents is the threat of Russian rocket attacks. Six months into the war, only about 30 percent or so of schools are reported to have bomb shelters.
And then, millions of displaced Ukrainian children will be attending school overseas - often having to study in a language that is not their mother tongue.
As for those facilities in territories occupied by invading forces, Western officials say families are being forced to bring their children to schools where they face being "re-programmed" by teachers brought in from Russia, reports the BBC. This will be the aim, they say, through a syllabus which portrays Ukraine - and Ukrainian - as not being real.
Since the start of the full-scale war, Russian troops have damaged 2,400 educational institutions across Ukraine, says the Ministry of Education. 270 educational institutions have been completely destroyed.
Even children's libraries have been the target of Russian rocket attacks - such as the one we visited in Chernihiv (photo below).
