Artillery shells have rained down on a city near Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, while Russian missiles hit targets near Odesa as the war nears its six-month milestone.
Key Points:
- Ukrainian officials report more Russian attacks against targets in the east and south of the country
- The Russian-held city of Nikopol was bombed on five separate occasions overnight
- Ukrainian official denies country’s involvement in suspected car bomb that killed daughter of Russian nationalist
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an overnight video address, called for vigilance, saying Moscow could try “something particularly ugly”.
Russian authorities said they were investigating a suspected car bomb attack outside Moscow that killed the daughter of Alexander Dugina, an ultranationalist Russian ideologue who advocates for Russia to absorb Ukraine.
While investigators said they were considering “all versions” in establishing who was responsible, the Russian Foreign Ministry speculated there could be a link to Ukraine, which an adviser to Zelenskyy ruled it out.
Journalist and political expert Darya Dugina is pictured at the Tsargrad TV studio in Moscow, Russia. (Reuters: Tsargrad.tv)
“Ukraine, of course, had nothing to do with this because we are not a criminal state, like the Russian Federation, and we are also not a terrorist state,” said Mykhailo Podolyak.
As Ukraine prepared to mark its Independence Day on August 31 in a war that has ravaged towns and cities, killed thousands and forced millions to flee, military and regional officials reported more Russian attacks on targets in the east and south of the country.
Of particular concern was the bombing of Nikopol, a city across the Dnipro River from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s and Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. It has been in the hands of Russian forces since March.
Nikopol was bombed on five separate occasions overnight, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.
He said 25 artillery shells hit the city causing a fire in an industrial building that knocked out power to 3,000 residents.
Fighting near Zaporizhzhia and Saturday’s missile attack on the southern city of Voznesensk, not far from Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear power plant, have sparked fears of a nuclear accident.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a phone call stressing the importance of ensuring the safety of nuclear facilities, stressing the his “firm commitment” to Ukraine.
Cruise missile strikes
Local authorities also reported overnight missile attacks in the Odesa region, home to ports critical to a UN plan to help Ukraine’s agricultural exports.
Five Russian Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from the Black Sea at the region overnight, the regional administration’s spokesman said.
Two were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses and three hit agricultural targets, but there were no casualties.
Russia said on Sunday that the missiles had destroyed an ammunition depot containing missiles for US-made HIMARS rockets, while Kyiv said a barn had been hit.
Reuters