2 September 2022 01:00
Summary
- Russian energy giant Gazprom says it won't resume gas supplies to Europe on Saturday as planned
- The Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been shut for three days, and was due to reopen on Saturday
- Gazprom says there is an oil leak at a compressor station, and released a picture
- But the EU has accused Russia of "fallacious pretenses" and "cynicism"
- Earlier, the G7 group of nations announced plans for a price cap on Russian oil
- Meanwhile, the UN's nuclear watchdog is inspecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
- At a news conference in Vienna on Friday night, the inspectors said the plant had been physically damaged
- The IAEA also said they will keep a permanent presence at the plant
Live Reporting
We're about to close our live coverage of the war in Ukraine, and its knock-on effects for Europe and the world. It's been a busy day - here are today's main headlines:
- The G7 group of nations announced plans for a price cap on Russian oil
- The plan is designed to reduce both Russian revenue, and inflation in the West
- There is no detail on the level of the cap - but it is expected to begin in December
- After the G7 announcement, Russian state energy firm Gazprom said it would not restart gas supply via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany tomorrow as planned
- The pipeline has been closed for three days, and was due to reopen in the early hours of Saturday
- Gazprom blamed an oil leak in a turbine - but Siemens, which has worked on the pipeline, said that type of leak shoudn't lead to a shutdown
- European leaders accused Gazprom of not telling the truth - the European Council president, Charles Michel, said Russia was using gas a weapon
- Elsewhere, Rafael Grossi, the chief of the IAEA - the UN's nuclear agency - gave a news conference in Vienna to discuss their inspection of the Zaporizhzhia plant
- Grossi said the plant has been "violated, not once but several times" and that he was worried about more damage being done
- Two IAEA staff will remain permanently on-site "from night to day", even after this inspection ends, Grossi added
Edited by Owen Amos