As further bombs shook Crimea and a missile injured 12 civilians near a nuclear power plant on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians to exercise caution as they prepared to celebrate their Independence Day.
During the 31st anniversary of their freedom from Soviet tyranny, Zelenskiy warned Ukrainians in his nightly video message that they must not allow Moscow to “spread pessimism and terror” among them.
Before the anniversary on August 24, which also marks six months since Russia’s full-scale invasion of
Ukraine began, Zelenskiy stated, “We must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something
particularly ugly, something particularly vicious.”
On August 24, according to regional governor Oleh Synehub, the curfew in Kharkiv, the second-largest city in
Ukraine, will be extended for the full day. The northeastern city often has a curfew from 10 pm to 6 am since it frequently receives Russian bombardment.
“Remain at home and take heed of warnings!” residents received a message from Synehub.
Russian missile also struck a residential section of a southern Ukrainian town not far from a nuclear power
plant on Saturday, inflicting 14 civilian injuries, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials.
New worries of a nuclear disaster during the war were raised by the attack on the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear
station (South Ukraine) and recent shelling close to the Zaporizhzhia station, Europe’s largest such plant,
according to Ukrainian officials.
In his speech, Zelenskiy also made a passing allusion to a recent spate of explosions in Crimea, the Ukrainian
area that Russia invaded in 2014 and occupied and annexed.
While researchers suggest that at least some of the strikes were made feasible by new weaponry employed
by Ukrainian forces, Ukraine has not yet claimed responsibility for them.
This year, Zelenskiy claimed, “You can literally feel Crimea in the air this year, that the occupation there is
only temporary and that Ukraine is coming back.”
The latest incident in Crimea was reported by the Russian-appointed governor, who is not recognised by the
West, who said a drone had damaged a structure Saturday morning close to the Black Sea Fleet’s main office.
Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram, “A drone flew onto the roof. flying low. It was downed right over the Fleet headquarters. fell on the roof and burned up. The attack failed.”
Later, Razvozhayev said that the area’s anti-aircraft system had resumed operating and ordered locals to
cease documenting and sharing images of how it was functioning.
Explosions were recorded in adjacent towns, including the resorts of Yevpatoriya, Olenivka, and Zaozyornoye, according to Ukrainian media.
