Tonight, the US will, for the first time give Ukraine ScanEagle surveillance drones, mine-resistant vehicles and mine clearing equipment to mount a military counteroffensive against Russian forces. A senior defense official tells CBSN that the nearly eight hundred million dollars package is to help Ukrainian forces regain territory as the war nears its sixth month. Shelling around a key nuclear plant in Ukraine is drawing international concern. The UN secretary called today for a demilitarized zone around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant which first came under Russian control back in March.

That arms package can’t come quickly enough for field commanders that we’ve spoken to. And what’s already been supplied is making huge difference on the battlefield. But the main focus today has been rising tensions over that nuclear power plant. Tonight, the threat of a nuclear disaster at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has just gone next level. Ukraine accusing Russia of preparing to stage a false flag incident today. Russia accusing Ukraine of trying to trigger an accident to the complex. Russian forces even ordered employee to stay home according to Ukraine’s state-run energy firm. The brinkmanship follows two weeks of intensive shelling both side trading artillery strikes and accusations. UN secretary general has called the attacks on the plant “suicide”. In an effort to show just how seriously Ukraine is taking the threat, emergency worker dressed head to toe in protective suits in the city of Zaporizhzhia, held nuclear disaster drills, scrubbing down volunteers posing as radiation expose victims. A stage-managed performance for the cameras maybe, but the risks are real.