The dire conflict in Ukraine has been dragging on since Russia’s invasion on February 24th, 2022. The fighting has been relentless on the Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, but there are some new updates.

A nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia is in danger of being shut down due to Russian shelling around it. Only one of the plant’s six power units, which is needed to cool the nuclear material, is functioning. President of Ukraine, Volodymyr stated “the situation remains very risky.”

 The war is also limiting the supply of diesel fuel that would be needed to run the backup generators. If the plant completely loses power a meltdown will occur in one and a half to two hours from lack of power to the cooling cooling pumps.  

In addition to the power plant, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has stated his intention of meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping. This would be the first time Xi Jinping leaves China since 2020, due to China’s zero Coronavirus policy. The meeting, which is planned to take place in Uzbekistan, may provide more insight into the relationship between Russia and China.

On a broader scale, Ukraine has managed to reclaim approximately 2,300 square miles of territory from Russia since the beginning of September, 2022, according to President Zelenskiy. That equates to approximately 10% of the land Russia has invaded.