Ukraine has accused Russia of launching rockets from the vicinity of the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, killing at least 13 people and wounding 10 others, knowing it would be risky for Ukraine to return fire. Ukraine says Russia attacked the town of Marhanets, which Moscow says Ukraine has used in the past to bomb Russian soldiers at the plant, which Russia seized in March. Calling on foreign allies to send more powerful weapons, Zelenskiy said in a video address overnight that Kyiv “will not let today’s Russian shelling of the Dnipropetrovsk region go unanswered,” vowing to inflict as much damage as possible to Russia to end the war. quickly
Ukraine’s air force said it believed up to a dozen Russian planes were destroyed on the ground in Tuesday’s dramatic explosions at Saky air base in Crimea, which Russia said killed one, injured 13 and damage dozens of nearby houses. Ukrainian political sources said it had carried out the attack, but Kyiv did not publicly claim responsibility. One expert said it could have been the product of a daring raid rather than a missile attack.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said he thought the Saky airbase in Crimea was a “legitimate target” for Ukraine. “First of all, Russia has illegally invaded, not only in 2014, but now Ukrainian territory,” he said. “Ukraine, in accordance with the articles of the UN, has a perfect right to defend its territory and take the necessary measures against an invading force.”
Pro-Russian separatists accused Ukraine on Wednesday of bombing a brewery in the occupied eastern city of Donetsk, killing one person and causing an ammonia leak that sparked a fire, Reuters reported.
The EU has been urged to ban Russian tourists from travel, with some member states saying visiting Europe is “a privilege, not a human right” for tourists. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Washington Post that the “most important sanction” is “to close the borders, because the Russians are taking someone else’s land.”
China, which Russia has sought as an ally since being controlled by the West, has called the US the “main instigator” of the crisis, Reuters reported. In an interview with Russian state news agency Tass published on Wednesday, China’s ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, accused Washington of backing Russia into a corner by repeatedly expanding the alliance of NATO defense.
The UN expects to see a “big uptick” in ship requests to export grain from Ukraine after Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations agreed on transit procedures, a senior UN official said on Wednesday . The number of incoming ships is expected to “grow in the near future” as grain deals are made, said Frederick Kenney, acting UN coordinator in Istanbul. So far, 24 ships carrying grain have left Ukrainian ports.
Estonia said it had summoned the Russian ambassador and formally protested the violation of its airspace by a Russian helicopter on Tuesday. “Estonia considers this an extremely serious and regrettable incident that is completely unacceptable,” the ministry announced, saying the helicopter had flown over southeastern Estonia without permission.
Ukraine’s foreign creditors have backed its request for a two-year freeze on payments on nearly $20 billion in international bonds, allowing it to avoid a debt default, Reuters reported. Ukraine’s prime minister says it will save the country nearly $6 billion, while helping to stabilize its economy and strengthen its military.