Russian President Vladimir Putin KYIV, Aug 26 (AFP/TASS): Washington on Thursday warned Russia against diverting energy from a nuclear plant, Kyiv says, was cut off from its grid, as calls for an independent inspection of the facility mount.
Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is under occupation by Moscow's troops and was disconnected from the national power supply on Thursday, the state energy operator said.
The United States cautioned Russia against redirecting energy from the site.
"The electricity that it produces rightly belongs to Ukraine and any attempt to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian power grid and redirect to occupied areas is unacceptable," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
"No country should turn a nuclear power plant into an active war zone and we oppose any Russian efforts to weaponise or divert energy from the plant."
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Ukraine had informed it the plant temporarily lost connection-"further underlining the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to travel to the facility".
"We can't afford to lose any more time. I'm determined to personally lead an IAEA mission to the plant in the next few days," the organisation's Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre urged Russia to agree to a demilitarised zone around the plant and "allow the IAEA to visit as soon as possible to check on the safety."
The Zaporizhzhia plant-Europe's largest nuclear facility-has been occupied by Russian troops in southern Ukraine since the opening weeks of the war, and remained on the frontlines ever since.
Recently Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame for shelling around the complex, a "highly volatile" development the IAEA says "underlines the very real risk of a nuclear disaster".
President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russian actions around the plant as a menace.
"Russia has put Ukrainians as well as all Europeans one step away from radiation disaster," he said in his nightly address.
President Joe Biden, in a telephone call with Zelensky, called for Russia to return full control of the plant and let in UN nuclear inspectors, the White House said.
Zelensky said earlier on Thursday he had spoken with Biden and thanked him for the United States' "unwavering" support.
"We discussed Ukraine's further steps on our path to the victory over the aggressor and importance of holding Russia accountable for war crimes", Zelensky said on Twitter.
A TASS report adds: Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree to increase the standard strength of the armed forces by 137,000 men.
The decree, uploaded to the official legal information portal, will come into force on January 1, 2023.
According to the decree, the standard strength of the Russian armed forces next year will be set at 2,039,758, including 1,150,628 servicemen.
Under the previous decree, declared as void, established the armed forces' strength at 1,902,758, including 1,013,628 servicemen. It was effective starting from January 1, 2018.
The Defence Ministry has no plans for abolishing conscription. According to Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, the number of contract servicemen in the Russian armed forces at the end of 2015 reached 352,000, for the first time exceeding the number of conscript soldiers and sailors (297,000). Also, the Russian army had about 270,000 commissioned officers and ensigns and warrant officers. The Defence Ministry's plan for 2019-2025 envisages an increase in the number of contract servicemen to 475,600.
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