Vladimir Putin made clear on Thursday that “the worst is yet to come” as fighting in Ukraine continued for a ninth day, and he seemed to make good on that promise in the early hours of Friday when his forces shelled then seized a nuclear power plant.
Russian forces had caused panic overnight after their shelling caused a fire at the Zaporizhzhya plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
An anonymous Ukrainian official told the Associated Press that the fire had caused “elevated” levels of radiation, but that claim that was quickly denied by the plant’s spokesman and the Ukrainian State Emergency Service.
Here is what you missed overnight, and you can follow the latest news in our live blog.
1. Panic after Russian attack on nuclear power plant
Joe Biden and Boris Johnson called Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, in the early hours as international concern grew over the attack. Mr Zelensky accused Russia of “nuclear terrorism”.
Authorities at the power plant said the facility was secured and “nuclear safety is now guaranteed”.
Speaking this morning, Dominic Raab said it was “doubly reprehensible” that Russian forces had continued to shell the site after Ukrainian emergency services had tried to put out the fire.
The Deputy Prime Minister told Sky News the Russians had inflicted a bombardment on a “very sensitive, precarious and dangerous facility”.
Mr Raab said the UN security council meeting being called for by Boris Johnson was needed to “ramp up the pressure on these appalling tactics we are seeing from the Kremlin”.
2. Who can take out Putin? asks US senator
A US senator has asked if there is “a Brutus in Russia” who would kill Vladimir Putin to end the invasion of Ukraine.
Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina, asked on Twitter if there was “somebody in Russia to take this guy out” in apparent reference to Mr Putin.
He added: “You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.”
Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?
The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out.
You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 4, 2022
3. ‘Mouldy’ German missiles no good for Ukraine
About 700 anti-aircraft missiles set to be donated by Germany to Ukraine are inoperable because they have been stored in “mouldy” boxes, according to a report.
The German newspaper Der Spiegel said on Friday morning that Berlin had intended to deliver 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine but on closer inspection it was found that a third of the missiles were no longer operational.
The newspaper claimed that some of the rockets were also at least 35 years old and had stopped being used by the German army in 2012 due to a corroded or oxidised propellant charge.
Spiegel also said the wooden boxes in which the rockets were stored were so mouldy that in November soldiers were only allowed to enter the storage facilities where the missiles were kept if they wore protective equipment.
4. BBC may have been blocked in Russia
BBC Russia said there were reports of problems accessing its website in Russia after unconfirmed claims that Moscow had banned some western media sites, including Twitter, Facebook, the BBC and Deutsche Welle.
BBC Russia said the domain https://bbc.com had not been added to the registry of banned sites and there had been no confirmation if the BBC had been banned by the Kremlin.
German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported, in Russian, that the BBC site was not working in Russia.
It comes as Vladimir Putin is set to announce martial law in Russia as soon as this morning in a bid to crack down on dissent.
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5. Russian stock exchange remains closed
Russia will keep its stock exchange closed for a fifth day as authorities scramble to stave off a market crash.
The Moscow Exchange will remain shuttered today, marking the longest shutdown in the country’s history. It is not set to open until at least next Wednesday.
Trading was last open in Moscow a week ago, while Russian stocks listed in London lost more than 90pc of their value before being suspended.
A wave of western sanctions targeting the Russian central bank and blocking lenders from the Swift payment system has left the country’s economy teetering on the brink of collapse.
