Ukraine’s General Staff said on Tuesday that Russia had carried out artillery and airstrikes in the Zaporizhia region, as clashes near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant raised fears of a catastrophic nuclear accident.
The attacks come a day before Ukraine celebrates its independence from the Soviet Union on Wednesday, when Kyiv bans public celebrations for fear of more attacks in a war that the United Nations said on Monday has killed more than 5,500 civilians. banned
The US embassy in Kyiv also warned in a statement about Russian plans to attack civilian and government infrastructure in the coming days.
Ukraine said Russia shelled and carried out airstrikes on several towns in the Zaporizhia region near the front lines in the south of the country after seizing the nuclear power plant shortly after its February 24 invasion.
Artillery and missile fire near the Zaporizhia nuclear reactor complex, on the southern bank of the Dnipro River, led to calls for disarmament in the region.
Ukrainians living nearby have expressed concern that bullets could hit one of the plant’s six reactors, with dire consequences.
“Of course we’re worried… it’s like sitting on a powder keg,” said Alexander Livorenko, a resident of a nearby town on Monday.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow might try to do “something very ugly” ahead of the 31st anniversary of independence on Wednesday, which also marks half a year since the Russian invasion.
Authorities in Kyiv banned public events related to Independence Day from Monday to Thursday, fearing renewed rocket attacks.
Kiev is far from the front line and has rarely been hit by Russian missiles since Ukraine repelled a ground offensive to seize the capital in March.
Mayor Ihor Terkov in Kharkiv, the northeastern city that has been repeatedly hit by artillery fire and long-range missiles and killed, has extended the curfew during the night to start from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday. informed. until thursday
Fears of the attacks grew after Russia’s Federal Security Service accused Ukrainian agents on Monday of killing Daria Dogina, the daughter of an ultra-nationalist, in a car bomb attack near Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin called “sinister.” He reads, they killed. Ukraine denies involvement in the attack.
The two sides exchanged accusations over the repeated bombing of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, and Kyiv accused Moscow of deploying troops and stockpiling military equipment. Russia denies this and accuses Ukraine of targeting Zaporizhia with drones.
The state-run RIA news agency quoted Dmitry Polyansky, deputy ambassador to the United Nations, as saying that Moscow has requested a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to review the situation regarding the Zaporizhia station.
Source: Lebanon Debate
