Nuclear shadow over Ukraine

Nuclear tensions are growing in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( The nuclear threat is rearing its head again in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Ukrainian officials are making increasingly strident warnings that Russia plans an explosion at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, possibly as a false flag operation intended to blame Kyiv. Russia, which controls the plant in occupied Ukraine, dismisses the claims. The increased noise around the plant follows last month’s catastrophic destruction of the giant Kakhova dam that was also occupied by Russia, as Ukraine’s counteroffensive to reclaim territory in the country’s east and south was getting under way. Each blamed the other then, too. Key Reading: [Ukraine Nuclear Tensions Spike With US Radiation Sniffer on Call]( [Russia Eyes Chechens and Convicts to Fill Gaps Left by Wagner]( [Romania Calls for Permanent German Troop Presence on NATO Flank]( [Putin Tells China-Led Bloc That Russia Supports Him After Mutiny]( Follow our Ukraine Recap for the [latest coverage]( of the war. Ukraine’s forces are slowly making progress against entrenched Russian defenses ahead of next week’s NATO summit in Vilnius. Kyiv’s US and European allies are wrestling with how to word greater encouragement that it will join the alliance without committing to a hard timetable sought by Ukraine. That’s still been enough to trigger renewed outrage from pro-Kremlin commentators, with some demanding that Moscow resort to tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine to underline Russia’s determination to win the war. Dmitry Medvedev, the former president who’s now deputy head of Russia’s security council, warned in an article titled “The Age of Confrontation” this week that “a nuclear apocalypse is not only possible, but also quite probable.” Russia will achieve its goal of removing the “threat” of Ukraine entering NATO, he said. After the mutiny that threatened President Vladimir Putin’s 24-year rule, there’s heightened concern abroad about potential instability in the nation with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and possible consequences for Russia’s war strategy. Putin moved tactical nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus last month, ratcheting up tensions with NATO. That put him at odds with a pledge he made not to deploy nuclear arms abroad during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow in March. Xi has warned against escalating the war into a nuclear conflict. That threshold hasn’t been crossed as the war approaches 500 days. But the nuclear shadow continues to linger. Residents walk among the debris following a Russian missile strike in the center of Kramatorsk on June 29. Photographer: Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images Check out the latest [Washington Edition newsletter](. You can [sign up]( to get it in your inbox every weekday. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Janet Yellen visits China this week with the goal of finding areas of common economic ground and opening communication channels amid [increasingly turbulent ties]( between the world’s two biggest economies. It will be the first major test of a policy the US Treasury Secretary outlined in April that’s geared toward defending American national security without trying to hold Beijing back economically. - Six months after Hong Kong [reopened to the world](, the city still has a steep climb to reclaim its place as Asia’s premier finance and tourism hub. Joe Biden is obsessed with the American middle class: It’s the deliberate target of everything from his administration’s efforts to rewrite economic policy and seed an industrial revival to its geopolitical competition with China. But as this visually rich [piece]( shows, the president has a problem going into next year’s election, with the middle class feeling poorer and displaying persistent angst about the future. - A federal judge in the state of Louisiana ordered key Biden administration officials and agencies not to [contact social media platforms]( to suppress speakers and viewpoints they disagree with, such as the validity of the 2020 election. - Biden’s efforts to revive a key campaign promise to provide [debt relief]( to student-loan borrowers will likely meet a fresh wave of lawsuits challenging his authority to act without congressional approval. Africa has become the second-largest recipient of credit from India as the country tries [to catch up]( with China in expanding its influence in the resource-rich continent. Forty two African nations received about $32 billion, or 38% of all credit extended by India in the past decade. Looking to capitalize on a solid parliamentary majority, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is stepping up the pace of reform at the start of his second term to [consign Greece’s crisis]( years to history. In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua, Mitsotakis set out a series of plans and objectives for the next four years that aim to consolidate the country’s position in the European Union after years of economic hardship. - Mitsotakis said it’s time to [ease tensions]( with neighboring Turkey in comments before he is expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit next week. WATCH: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg. Source: Bloomberg Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Pentagon Is in Crisis as Recruiting Woes Mount: James Stavridis]( - [China Should Be Rolling Out Red Carpet for Yellen: Minxin Pei]( - [Shipping Needs to Go Nuclear to Reach Net Zero: David Fickling]( South Korea’s success in salvaging a failed North Korean spy satellite from the sea will provide a [rare direct look]( at Pyongyang’s capabilities. The 36-day operation deployed ships, aircraft and deep-sea divers to search for the rocket that was launched on May 31 but failed a few minutes into flight before crashing in international waters in the Yellow Sea. Explainers You Can Use - [Ill in England? Your Location Can Determine If You Live or Die]( - [South Africa Tackles Biggest Growth Brake After Energy: Skills]( - [Hungary to Overhaul Social Spending on Mounting Budget Pressures]( Israel said it ended a 44-hour raid on the Jenin refugee camp after sending 1,000 troops to fight what it called Iran-funded militants as part of its biggest air attack on the occupied West Bank in two decades. For the 17,000 residents of the settlement — descendants of Palestinians displaced in the 1948 war that led to Israel’s creation — the [assault was painful](, killing 12 people, driving several thousand from their homes and leaving others without water or electricity. A destroyed vehicle in Jenin today. Photographer: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images Tune in to Bloomberg TV’s Balance of Power at 5pm to 6pm ET weekdays with Washington correspondents [Annmarie Hordern]( and [Joe Mathieu](. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here](. News to Note - President Emmanuel Macron pledged [swift government support]( to help mayors rebuild schools, libraries and town halls destroyed during a week of violence that swept across France after the police shooting of a teenager. - Former Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono has begun a series of meetings with senior officials in Beijing in a sign of [improving ties]( between the two neighbors. - The Chinese government has [postponed a trip]( to Beijing by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell that had been due next week, a spokesperson for Borrell said yesterday. - Thailand will hold a joint session of its parliament on July 13 to elect a prime minister, almost two months after [a group of pro-democracy parties]( swept the May election. - Heat will swathe large parts of Germany and the Alps through the weekend, depressing water levels in the Rhine and [driving up energy demand]( for cooling in Europe’s biggest economy. And finally ... Monday was the Earth’s [hottest day on record](, highlighting the extremity of this year’s summer in the northern hemisphere and the dangers of ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions generated from burning fossil fuels. And as Will Mathis and Aaron Clark write, El Niño conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years and will trigger a surge in temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization. A man cools himself with water in Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 12. Photographer: Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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