Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week urged Ukrainians to remain vigilant and celebrate their Independence Day as fresh explosions rocked Crimea and 12 civilians were injured when a missile hit a nuclear power plant.
Zelensky said in his video night speech that Ukrainians should not allow Moscow to spread “despair and fear” among them as they commemorate the 31st anniversary of independence from Soviet rule.
“We all have to be aware that Russia this week might try to do something ugly and particularly evil,” he said ahead of the Aug. 24 anniversary, six months since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The curfew in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, will be extended for a full day on August 24, Kharkiv Governor Oleh Sinhoub said. The northeastern city is regularly bombed by Russia and there is usually a curfew from 10pm to 6am.
Also on Saturday, a Russian missile hit a residential area in a southern Ukrainian city not far from a nuclear power plant, injuring 14 civilians, Russian and Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian officials said the Russian attack near the Podnokrainsk nuclear power plant, also known as the South Ukraine plant, and the new bombing near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, have raised new fears of a wartime nuclear accident. .
In his speech, Zelensky also indirectly referred to a series of explosions that occurred in recent days in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, but analysts say at least some of them were made possible by new equipment used by Ukrainian forces.
In the latest attack in Crimea, Russia’s appointed governor, whom the West does not recognize, said a drone bombed a building near the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet on Saturday morning.
Governor Mikhail Razugayev said in a telegram: “A drone flew over the roof … it was shot down right above the fleet headquarters. It fell on the roof and burned. The attack failed.”
Razugayev later released another statement on Telegram, saying that the anti-aircraft system in the area had been reactivated and asking residents to stop filming and posting a video showing how it works.
Ukrainian media reported that there were explosions in nearby towns, including the resorts of Yupatoria, Ulynyuka and Zazyurnoye.
According to satellite images, there have been explosions and fires in Crimea in the past week, including one at a Russian air base that appears to have destroyed several aircraft.
Source: Lebanon Debate
