Facts about Ukraine crisis: Kakhovka incident poses no direct threat to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant: official

KIEV/MOSCOW/VLADIVOSTOK, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments related to the Ukraine crisis:

Petro Kotin, president of Ukraine's state-run nuclear energy operator Energoatom, said Friday that the Kakhovka incident poses no direct threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant at the moment as the plant can use water from alternative sources.

"In addition to the Kakhovka reservoir, there are several other sources of water for the cooling pond," Kotin was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

In particular, mobile pumping units or underground wells for drinking water can be used to provide the plant with water, Kotin said.

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Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive but has failed to accomplish its goals, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

"First, it can be stated with absolute certainty that this offensive has begun. The use of strategic reserves of the Ukrainian forces proves it. Second, in no areas of combat the Ukrainian troops have achieved their tasks. This is an absolutely obvious thing," Putin told reporters in Russia's Sochi.

There were "significant losses" of Ukrainian troops in the past five days of "very intense fighting," but Kiev still preserves the offensive potential, Putin was quoted as saying in a Kremlin press release.

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Russia will deploy certain types of weapons in Belarus after July 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday when meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

"As you know, on July 7-8, the preparation of relevant facilities will be completed, and we will immediately begin measures related to the deployment of the relevant types of weapons on your territory," Putin said in a conversation with Lukashenko in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"So everything is going as planned and everything is stable," he added.

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Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, said Thursday that Russia intends to export ammonia through a terminal at the Taman port following the damage to the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline.

Manturov said that Russia does not expect gaining access to repair the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, which was sabotaged on June 5.

"Regarding the supply of Russian ammonia, as you know, it has not been delivered through the ammonia pipeline for a year now. As you can understand, neither over the past year nor in the near future will there be any deliveries because there is currently no access for restoration and repair," Manturov said.

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Ukraine and the United Nations have agreed to arrange evacuation from the Russia-controlled territories in southern Ukraine, which were affected by mass flooding caused by the Kakhovka dam collapse, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and current Head of the UN in Ukraine Denise Brown agreed that the UN will go to the affected areas from the Ukraine-controlled territories as soon as Russia provides access and security guarantees, the ministry said in a statement.

The UN will immediately form groups in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson that will be sent to the affected areas on the left bank of the Dnipro River to provide humanitarian aid and evacuate people, the statement said.