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[Text/Observer Network Chen Sijia] Recently, US media reported that Russia and Ukraine originally planned to send a delegation to Doha, the capital of Qatar, to negotiate a limited ceasefire agreement on a ban on attacks on energy facilities, but the Ukrainian army's raid on Russia's Kursk Oblast disrupted the negotiation plan. However, the Russian side quickly denied the US media's report on the negotiations.

According to a report by Russia Today (RT) on August 18, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said on the same day that Russia and Ukraine had not conducted any "direct or indirect" negotiations. She emphasized that the threats facing energy facilities such as the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant and the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant come from Ukraine, not Russia.

The Washington Post quoted multiple diplomats and officials on the 17th as saying that Russia and Ukraine had planned to send a delegation to Doha in late August to negotiate a limited ceasefire agreement on a ban on attacks on energy facilities under the mediation of Qatar. However, the Ukrainian army's raid on Russia's Kursk Oblast disrupted the negotiation plan.

People familiar with the matter said that the Ukrainian army's attack on Kursk Oblast has added uncertainty to the planned negotiations: Ukraine believes that this action will increase its bargaining chips; but this move has angered Russia, and "the Russian top leaders will not make any compromises under pressure."

The Washington Post said that the Ukrainian presidential office confirmed the authenticity of the Doha meeting. In a statement, Ukraine said the meeting was postponed "due to the situation in the Middle East" and will be held via video on August 22 local time.

But the Russian side quickly denied the reports of the negotiations. When asked to comment on the Washington Post article on the 18th local time, Zakharova responded: "No one is destroying anything because there is nothing to destroy. There have never been direct or indirect negotiations between Russia and the Kiev regime on the security of critical civilian infrastructure."

She said Moscow and Kiev had not held any talks since the spring of 2022, apart from negotiations on a prisoner exchange facilitated by a third-party mediator.

Zakharova said that the security threats faced by facilities such as the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant and the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant "are entirely caused by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and their supporters" and that Russia is doing everything it can to protect these facilities from attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Zakharova believes that Ukraine had many opportunities to resolve the crisis through negotiations, and Russian President Vladimir Putin also put forward a peace initiative in June this year. "But after August 6, the whole world saw Ukraine's response to Russia's goodwill gesture - they launched a raid on Kursk Oblast. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said, there is nothing to talk about with such people."

On August 6, local time, Ukrainian troops raided Russia's Kursk Oblast, which was the largest attack launched by Ukraine on Russian territory since the outbreak of the conflict.

On the 18th, Araudinov, deputy director of the Military and Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, said that a large number of Ukrainian military personnel had been eliminated in the Kursk direction and the local situation had been brought under control. Ukrainian Air Force Commander Oleksandr Oleksyukh posted on social media that the Ukrainian army had carried out an airstrike on a bridge in Kursk Oblast, hitting Russia's "logistics capabilities."

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the 18th that the Ukrainian army lost more than 300 people and 6 tanks in the Kursk direction in the past day. In the entire battle in Kursk Oblast, the Ukrainian army has lost more than 3,460 people and 50 tanks. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Sersky, announced on the 15th that the Ukrainian army controlled 1,150 square kilometers of Russian territory and 82 settlements.

However, the fighting in Kursk Oblast poses a threat to the safety of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in Russia. According to CCTV News, a huge explosion was heard over the city of Kurchatov, where the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is located, in the early morning of the 18th local time.

On the 17th, the general manager of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation, Likhachev, had a telephone conversation with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Grossi, to discuss the situation around the nuclear power plant and invited Grossi to visit the city of Kurchatov to assess the situation around the nuclear facility.

The security situation at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, which is controlled by Russia, is also deteriorating. On August 11, local time, a fire broke out in a cooling tower of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. Both Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the cause of the fire. However, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Ulyanov said on the 18th that IAEA experts have determined that the cooling tower fire has nothing to do with Russia.

Grossi expressed concern about the security threats facing the two nuclear power plants and called on the warring parties to exercise restraint. He said in a statement: "I remain extremely concerned and once again call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and strictly abide by the five specific principles established to protect the nuclear power plants."

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