Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the people of Ukraine to be cautious ahead of Wednesday’s celebrations to mark 31 years of independence from Soviet rule. While there were multiple explosions in Crimea and a missile attack near a nuclear power plant injured 12 civilians. Zelensky said Ukrainians should not allow Moscow to succeed in “spreading despair and fear” ahead of the August 24 celebrations.
According to a news agency Reuters news, Zelensky said in a video that ‘we should all be aware that this week Russia may try to do something particularly ugly, something especially vicious.’ Zelensky also referred to a recent series of recent explosions in Crimea in his speech. Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, analysts say at least some have been carried out by new equipment used by its military.
While the region’s governor, Oleh Sinehub, said that the curfew in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is going to be extended for a full day on Wednesday. The curfew usually lasts from 10 pm to 6 am. Kharkiv is under constant Russian shelling. In a message written on the Telegram messaging app, Cinehub asked citizens to stay at home and heed the warnings.
Ukrainian officials said a Russian missile also hit a residential area not far from a nuclear power station in the southern Ukrainian city on Saturday, injuring 14 civilians. Ukrainian officials said the attack on the Pivdneukrensk (south Ukraine) nuclear station and fresh shelling near Europe’s largest Zaporizhzhya station have rekindled fears of a nuclear accident.
