London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Ukraine conflict: Your guide to understanding day nine

Ukraine conflict: Your guide to understanding day nine

Day nine of the invasion saw Russian forces attack and seize Europe's largest nuclear plant, prompting initial fears of a radiation leak and drawing Western condemnation.

A projectile hit a building near one of the six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant overnight, causing a fire that was later extinguished.

The global nuclear watchdog said none of the reactor safety systems were affected and there was no release of radioactive material.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of resorting to "nuclear terror", while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said such "reckless actions" could "threaten the safety of all Europe".

Nuclear experts told the BBC's Esme Stallard and Victoria Gill that the attack created a very risky situation.

"For the first time this morning, I'm frightened," said Prof Claire Corkhill of the University of Sheffield.


Why the south matters


Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia plant as part of an advance into southern Ukraine that appears to have been more successful than those in the country's north and east.

The BBC's Ben Tobias says Russia sees the south as vital to the success of the invasion.

Its soldiers have moved into the region from Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and is home to a sizeable Russian military presence.

Kherson - which is located where the Dnieper river meets the Black Sea - became the first major city to fall to Russian troops on Thursday.

They are also moving east towards Mariupol and west towards Odesa, threatening to cut off Ukraine's maritime access.

'Why are they bombing us?'


Russian forces have also stepped up their bombardment of northern cities.

In Chernihiv, aerial attacks destroyed high-rise apartment buildings and damaged a clinic and hospital on Thursday, reportedly killing at least 47 civilians.

The BBC's Joel Gunter says terrified residents have described being trapped under relentless shelling.

"There are no military targets here, there is only a cemetery, residential buildings, clinics and a hospital, why are they bombing us?" Svitlana, 40, told the BBC on Friday, as she hid under her dining table with her two children, aged six and three, and her neighbours.

A city moves underground


The BBC's Sarah Rainsford found frightened residents of Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv sheltering in a metro station, hiding from the bombs and shells.

"These are mostly Russian speakers, their city is 40km from the Russian border and they don't understand why Russia is attacking them," she said.

"One old lady, who's spent days sleeping inside a train carriage, living off hand-outs and too scared to surface onto the street, told me people in Kharkiv even respected Vladimir Putin before all this - as president of another country - but not anymore. She was furious."

'Mum won't believe me'


Maria Korenyuk and Jack Goodman of the BBC World Service Disinformation Team spoke to a woman in Kharkiv who has been unable to convince her Moscow-based mother that civilians are being killed in Russian attacks.

"Even though they worry about me, they still say it probably happens only by accident, that the Russian army would never target civilians. That it's Ukrainians who're killing their own people," said Oleksandra, 25.

She believed her parents' understanding of the conflict is down to the stories they are told by the official Russian media.

Meanwhile independent journalism is Russia is being severely curtailed, with some of the last remaining outlets closing.

The BBC was also forced to suspend its operations in Russia on Friday, after Russian authorities introduced new rules threatening journalists with prison sentences.

Director General Tim Davie said the BBC News service in Russian would continue to operate from outside the country.


Coach goes home to fight


The manager of Moldovan football club Sheriff Tiraspol, Yuriy Vernydub, has left his position to return to his native Ukraine and enlisted to help defend it.

Vernydub, 56, who masterminded a shock Champions League win against Real Madrid last year, told BBC Sport that he was "not afraid".

"My son called me at 4:30am and he told me the Russians attacked us. I knew then that I would return to Ukraine to fight," he said.


Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.

Families in Kharkiv still sheltering from attacks in metro stations.


 


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×