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The chief of the UN’s nuclear watchdog announced on Friday that he was discussing proposals with Russia and Kyiv to reconnect off-site electricity to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, calling it a “question of political will”. The biggest in Europe nuclear power plant has been disconnected from outside electricity since 23 September, with the reactor cores being cooled by emergency diesel generators. IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, said: “Each party say they stand ready to conduct the necessary repairs on their respective sides of the frontline. But for this to happen, the security situation on the ground must get better so that the engineers can carry out their vital work without endangering their lives and safety.”

French War Photographer Dies in Russian Airstrike in Eastern Ukraine

French photojournalist Antoni Lallican lost his life by a Moscow-led strike in eastern Ukraine on Friday. The 37-year-old prize-winning journalist was embedded with a Ukrainian military unit near the frontline in the eastern Ukraine when killed, Ukrainian authorities reported. Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Ivanchenko was injured in the same attack. “The two media professionals were wearing personal protective equipment, and their bulletproof vests had identification marks with the word ‘PRESS’ on them,” the Fourth Armoured Brigade said on social media.

Association Leader Denounces Attacks on Journalists

The head of the Ukraine’s journalist association, Serhiy Tomilenko, told Ukrainian media that Lallican had been killed near the town of Druzhkivka, one of the most active sectors of the 1,250km eastern battlefront. “By targeting reporters, the Moscow’s forces is deliberately hunting those trying to document atrocities,” Tomilenko said. “For journalists, every trip to the combat area is a deadly risk. Antoni Lallican took this peril repeatedly, coming to Ukraine, travelling to Donbas, documenting what some ignore.”

France’s leader, Emmanuel Macron, voiced “profound sorrow” for Lallican’s death, stating on social media he was “the casualty of an strike by Russian drones”.

Global journalist groups condemned Lallican’s demise in what it called a “war crime”. Kyiv’s top diplomat, Andriy Sybiga, said Russia “persists in attacking media personnel”, labeling it “a terrible offense and violation of global norms”.

Russia Launches Largest Assault on Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure

Moscow has carried out its largest offensive on Ukraine’s gas network since the initial invasion in two years ago, Kyiv’s state-owned gas operator Naftogaz reported on Friday. “Due to of this assault, a significant portion of our installations have been damaged. A portion of the destruction is critical,” the Naftogaz chair, Sergiy Koretsky, said. Approximately 35 missiles and dozens of unmanned aircraft were fired at its sites in the north-eastern Kharkiv region and central Poltava region, Naftogaz noted. “Some were successfully shot down. Unfortunately, not all,” it said. This led to power cuts in multiple areas, Ukraine’s energy ministry said.

Large-Scale Livestock Deaths in Airstrike

Approximately thousands of swine were killed in the northeastern part of Ukraine overnight on Friday after a Moscow-led strike caused a fire on a farm, the national rescue agency announced, noting that a worker at the farm was also injured. Photos shared by the agency showed animal remains stacked in tight enclosures that were partly burned down, a few with their roofs collapsed. The pigs were housed in eight stalls covering just over 13,000 sq metres, all of which burned down in the fire, the rescue team explained.

Ukraine Severs Diplomatic Ties with Nicaragua

Ukraine has cut off official relations with Nicaragua in reaction to it accepting seized lands as belonging to Moscow, Ukraine’s diplomatic office said. Nicaragua was one of only five United Nations members to oppose censuring Moscow’s aggression of Ukraine in 2022. In a message to Russia’s president in July, the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, described the invasion as a “valiant fight against Nato-backed extremism in Ukraine”. The Ukrainian foreign ministry stated it considered Nicaragua’s move “an effort to undermine the sovereignty and borders of Ukraine”. The country does not have major economic relations with Nicaragua or an diplomatic mission in the state.