As the war in Ukraine closes in on the six-month mark, there was concern among Ukrainians and allied Western officials that Russia was preparing to attack the capital Kyiv again. The United States said it believed Russia would target civilian and government infrastructure in the coming days. US citizens should leave Ukraine “now” by their own means if it was safe to do so, the US embassy said. Zelensky had warned over the weekend that Moscow might try “something particularly nasty” ahead of Wednesday’s Independence Day. “They’re going to get a response, a strong response,” he said Tuesday. “I want to say that every day … this response is going to grow, it’s going to get stronger and stronger.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart in Kyiv on Tuesday. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images) Fears of intensified Russian attacks followed the killing of Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian ultranationalist, in a car bombing near Moscow on Saturday. Moscow blamed the killing on Ukrainian agents, a charge Kyiv denies. Kyiv has rarely been hit by Russian missiles since Ukraine repelled a ground offensive to seize the capital in March. The mood in Kyiv was calm on Tuesday, with many people still walking the streets, but signs of an increased threat were palpable. Authorities told Ukrainians to work from home where possible from Tuesday to Thursday, also urging people to take air raid warnings seriously and seek shelter when sirens sound. Kyiv’s municipal government banned large public gatherings until Thursday, fearing that a crowd of celebrating residents could be targeted by a Russian missile attack.
Battle in the south, east
Russia has sent its troops over the border in what it calls a “special military operation” saying it wanted to demilitarize its neighbor and protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Moscow of waging an unjustified, imperial-style war of aggression. Six months after the Russian invasion, which has killed thousands, forced more than a third of Ukraine’s 41 million people from their homes and destroyed entire cities, the conflict is largely at a standstill. Apart from Crimea – which Moscow annexed in 2014 – Russian forces control a large swath of the south, including the Black Sea and Sea of Azov coasts, and parts of the eastern Donbas region. The prospects for peace seem almost non-existent. “We feel good, believing that victory will be on our side, only ours, there is no other choice,” said Yevhen, a Ukrainian soldier, as his front-line unit fired multiple artillery shells at Russian positions from a field in Donbas. Russian shelling hit Kharkiv in the northeast – Ukraine’s second-largest city – around dawn on Tuesday, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said. One house was hit, but no one was injured, he said. In the south, Ukraine’s southern military command said Russian forces pressed attacks along the front line of areas they hold, including multiple rocket attacks on the town of Marhanets across the Dnipro River from Russia’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Two civilians were injured and several houses, gas and water pipes were damaged, it said. WATCHES | Why the war in Ukraine may reach a tipping point:
Because the war in Ukraine may be reaching a tipping point
The war in Ukraine appears to be entering a new phase, with Ukraine launching military strikes deep into Russian territory and a major counter-offensive said to be in the works. Terence McKenna describes what happened and how Russia is responding. He added that Ukrainian missiles and artillery destroyed an ammunition depot and a command post of a Russian airborne assault regiment in Chernobaevka in the Russian-held Kherson region, southwest of Zaporizhzhia. Artillery and rocket fire near the nuclear reactor complex have prompted international calls for the area to be demilitarized.
Crimea platform
Meanwhile, leaders of dozens of countries and international organizations joined the so-called Crimea Platform — most of them via video — in a show of solidarity with Ukraine on the six-month anniversary of the invasion. Zelensky said that Ukraine will restore its sovereignty over the Crimea region. “To overcome terror, it is necessary to win the battle against Russian aggression,” Zelensky, dressed in his usual military fatigues, told delegates at the forum’s opening. WATCHES | Explosions at a power station in Crimea on August 16:
Explosions at a power station in Crimea
A transformer substation is on fire after an explosion in Dzhankoi, a town in Russian-annexed Crimea. Russia described the explosion as “sabotage”. “It is necessary to liberate Crimea. This will be the revival of world law and order.” Zelensky later told a news conference in Kyiv that Ukraine would not agree to any proposal to freeze the current front lines in order to “appease” Moscow, which now controls about 22 percent of Ukraine, including Crimea. He urged the world not to be war-weary, saying it would pose a threat to all. Acting Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told the summit that Rome would continue to support Ukraine. “We stand with you in your struggle to resist Russia’s invasion, to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity, to protect your democracy and independence,” he said. Zelensky also said Ukraine needed more weapons from Western backers to help turn the tide against Russia. Germany plans to deliver further weapons, including air defense systems, missile launchers and precision munitions, to Ukraine worth more than 500 million euros ($645 million Cdn) in 2023, a source told Reuters.
