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Shells hit Zaporizhzhia plant as Baltic states exit China bloc
Summary
A look back at 11 August 2022, when shelling struck Europe's largest nuclear plant and Estonia and Latvia left a China-led regional group.
What did the security picture around Ukraine look like on 11 August 2022? It combined danger at a nuclear site in occupied territory with a diplomatic break in the wider region.
Shelling at the Zaporizhzhia plant
On 11 August 2022, at least ten shells hit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, in an area under Russian occupation in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Russia and Ukraine each blamed the other for the attack. The strikes damaged an office building and the plant's fire station.
Earlier strikes in the days before
The shelling followed other incidents in the preceding days. On 10 August 2022, a Russian missile strike in Nikopol Raion, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killed at least 13 civilians and injured 11 others.
On 9 August 2022, multiple explosions were reported at a Russian military air base near Novofedorivka in western Crimea, during the Ukrainian summer counteroffensive. Crimean authorities said at least one person was killed and six others were injured.
Warnings and diplomatic moves
Also on 10 August 2022, Uzbekistan's embassy in Russia warned its citizens against joining Russian forces in Ukraine. It said that anyone who did so would face criminal liability for mercenaryism on returning to Uzbekistan.
On 11 August 2022, Estonia and Latvia formally withdrew from the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries group. The move came amid tensions with China over its human rights record and its support of Russia's war on Ukraine.
