Ukraine is bracing for possible brutal strikes as it marks 31 years since the country broke free from the Soviet Union. Western and Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is preparing to escalate its attacks.
- Ukraine is bracing for possible brutal strikes as it marks its independence day and 31 years since the end of Soviet rule. Authorities have cancelled celebrations in Kyiv as officials warn that Russia is preparing to attack the capital. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he had information from Ukraine’s intelligence services and international partners that there was an increased threat as the US said it believed Russia would target civilian and government infrastructure in the next few days. Ukraine’s defence ministry advised Ukrainians to be especially careful, citing the threat of missile attacks and “provocations” from Russia.
- Many civilians are attempting to leave Kyiv amid fears of a Russian attack, according to an adviser to Ukraine’s president. Alex Rodnyansky said people were worried and that there was “certainly some concern” that an attack may strike the centres of decision-making in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday. Russia and the Putin regime “are really obsessed with dates and symbols, so it would be logical to be on the lookout and be prepared for independence day to be attacked”, Andriy Yusov, the head of the ministry’s intelligence directorate, said.
- Zelenskiy has warned Russia of a strong response to any possible independence day attacks. Ukrainian intelligence is working with foreign intelligence, he said in a news conference on Tuesday, warning that Russia “will receive a response, a powerful response”. Zelenskiy also said Ukraine will not agree to any proposal to freeze the current frontlines in its conflict with Russia in order to “calm” Moscow, which now controls about 22% of Ukraine including Crimea.
- Zelenskiy also vowed to return Crimea to Ukraine, saying that it would become part of the EU, along with the rest of the country. “We will return Crimea, because it is our territory. In any way we decide. We will decide it on our own, without consulting any other state,” he said. “It all began with Crimea, and it will end with Crimea.”
- Ukraine is not ready for negotiations with Russia regarding a ceasefire, Zelenskiy said. “At the point where we are, we are not ready for a ceasefire. We explained that there will be no Minsk-3, Minsk-5, or Minsk-7. We will not play these games, we have lost part of our territories this way … it is a trap,” he said during a press conference following a summit of the Crimea Platform in Kyiv.
- Russia’s Donbas offensive is making minimal progress and its forces are suffering from shortages of munitions, vehicles and personnel, according to British intelligence.
- The UN nuclear watchdog will visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine “within the next few days if ongoing negotiations succeed”, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
- Ukraine’s intelligence directorate has claimed Russia is attempting to shell the “ash pits” of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to “raise clouds of radioactive dust”. In an update posted to the agency’s official Telegram channel late last night, officials said that mortar attacks on the surrounding suburbs of Energodar aimed to target the ash pits of the plant.
- The US is set to announce a fresh security assistance package for Ukraine of about $3bn (£2.5bn), officials have said, to equip the country for a war of attrition and secure its medium- to long-term defence posture. The money will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones, and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two, US officials told the Associated Press.
- Germany will also supply Ukraine with a further €500m in military aid, most of it earmarked for delivery next year, a government spokesman said on Tuesday. The equipment will include three IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems, “around a dozen armed recovery vehicles, 20 rocket-launchers mounted on pick-ups… precision munition and anti-drone equipment,” a spokesperson told Agence France-Presse.
- Norway and Britain are joining forces to acquire the Norwegian micro-drone Black Hornet to send to Ukraine. The package -at a cost of up to NOK 90m (about £8m) – includes Black Hornet units, spare parts, transportation and training and will be financed by the British-led fund to which Norway has contributed NOK 400m, according to a statement issued by the Norwegian ministry of defence on Wednesday.
- Russian authorities have reportedly detained Anti-Kremlin politician Yevgeny Roizman for speaking out against Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine, according to Russian media reports. Roizman, a former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg, is being investigated for “discrediting the Russian army”, Russia state media agency Tass reported, citing Yekaterinburg security services.