November 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The head of Ukraine’s nuclear energy provider says the company has received information that Russian forces may be preparing to leave the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“First of all, a lot of publications began to appear in the Russian media that the Zaporizhzhia NPP should perhaps be left alone, perhaps it should be handed over to the (International Atomic Energy Agency) for control,” Kotin said in an interview with Ukrainian media Sunday. “It's like, you know, they're packing and they're stealing whatever they can find." 

The IAEA has not released any information supporting Kotin’s statement, and CNN has reached out to the UN nuclear watchdog for comment.

The head of Energoatom emphasized that "it is still too early to say that the Russian military is leaving the plant," but that they are "preparing." 

Kotin also claimed that Russians "crammed everything they could into the Zaporizhzhia NPP site — both military equipment and personnel, trucks, probably with weapons and explosives," and that they mined the territory of the plant. 

Remember: Zaporizhzhia is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power facility, which provided up to 20% of the country’s electricity before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February. It has been under Russian control since March.

The plant and the area around it, including the nearby city of Enerhodar, have endured persistent shelling that has raised fears of a nuclear accident through the interruption of the power supply to the plant. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the shelling.

A group of mothers of Russian soldiers joined an activist group to demand the withdrawal of Moscow's troops from Ukraine, launching a petition online Sunday.

The drive, organized by the Russian Feminist Anti-War Resistance group, coincides with Mother's Day in Russia.

The petition is published on Change.org and addressed to parliamentarians on relevant committees of the State Duma and the Federation Council. The petition had over 1,500 signatures by 5:45 p.m. Moscow time (9:45 a.m. ET) Sunday, and the number was climbing.

The appeal describes the mothers of conscripts and mobilized soldiers as being "forced to humiliatingly knock on the thresholds of city administrations,” trying to return their men home. They hold pickets, write collective appeals, file petitions, but "no one hears them," the petition reads.

"We are against the participation of our sons, brothers, husbands, fathers in this. Your duty is to protect the rights and freedoms of mothers and children, you should not turn a blind eye to all this."

Power, water, heat, internet and network coverage have "been almost completely restored" in Ukraine's capital Kyiv as of 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) Sunday, the city military administration wrote on Telegram. 

Authorities said crews have entered the final stage of repair work on the power grid system.

Officials also said most of the city's residents are no longer experiencing emergency blackouts — imposed last month to limit the consumption of energy — as a result of the restored and stable power supply and low consumption by citizens.