Sept 5 - European leaders sought on Sunday to ease the impact of high energy prices across the continent after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned of a difficult winter, even as he reported progress in a counter-offensive against Russian troops.
ENERGY
* Germany will use income from windfall taxes to lower end-consumer prices of gas, oil and coal, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
* European gas buyers already grappling with record prices face further pain when markets open on Monday after Russia said one of its main supply pipelines to Europe would remain shut indefinitely, sparking fears over energy rationing.
* The energy ministers of European Union nations will meet on Friday to discuss urgent bloc-wide measures to rein in soaring energy prices including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants, a document seen by Reuters showed.
* Russia does not support an oil production cut now and it is likely OPEC+ will keep output steady when it meets Monday, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. (https://on.wsj.com/3cLUws9)
ZAPORIZHZHIA PLANT
* The Zaporizhzhia plant continues to supply electricity to the grid through a reserve line despite losing connection to the last main external power line, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday.
* An official from the Russian-installed administration in Zaporizhzhia told a radio station the situation was calm around the nuclear plant on Sunday after accusing Ukrainian forces of trying to attack it two days in a row. Ukraine says Russia attacked the plant itself.
BATTLE FIELD REPORTS
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed progress on Sunday in a counter-offensive Ukraine began last week, thanking his forces for taking two settlements in the south and a third, along with additional territory, in the east, but did not give precise locations.
DIPLOMACY
* John Sullivan, a Trump appointee who told Reuters this year that it would take a "crowbar" to get him out of Moscow, has left Russia after finishing his tenure as U.S. ambassador, the U.S. embassy said on Sunday.
