Ukraine prepares for Russian strikes on Independence Day
Ukraine is bracing for possible brutal attacks as it marks 31 years since the country broke free from the Soviet Union and six months of war with Russia.
In a national address on Tuesday night, Zelenskiy said:
Tomorrow is an important day for all of us. And that’s why this day, unfortunately, is also important to our enemy. We must be aware that horrific Russian provocations and brutal attacks are possible tomorrow.”
Authorities have banned mass gatherings in Kyiv as Western and Ukrainian officials warn that Russia is preparing to attack the capital again.
Russian military equipment and weapons on display in Kyiv on Ukraine’s National Flag Day on August 23 have been confiscated. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The United States said on Tuesday it believed Russia would target civilian and government infrastructure in the coming days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had information from Ukrainian intelligence services and international partners that there was a greater threat. Ukraine’s defense ministry has advised Ukrainians to be especially careful on Independence Day, citing the threat of missile attacks and “provocations” from Russia.
Andriy Yusov, the head of the ministry’s intelligence directorate, told Ukrainian state television:
Russia and the Putin regime attacked Ukrainian independence and independent Ukraine. They are really obsessed with dates and symbols, so it would be logical to be on the lookout and ready for independence day to be attacked.”
Updated at 03.29 BST
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Russia bombs nuclear plant ‘ash pits’ to release radioactive dust: Ukraine intelligence
Ukraine’s intelligence directorate has claimed that Russia is trying to bomb the “ash pits” at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to “raise clouds of radioactive dust.”
In an update posted on the agency’s official Telegram channel last night, officials said the mortar attacks in Energodar’s surrounding suburbs were aimed at the Zaporizhzhia plant’s ash pits.
They are places where the ashes, which are formed during the operation of the thermal power plants, are stored. This waste has a high concentration of toxic substances and a radiation level at least 2.5 times higher than the natural background. When dried, they form dust that can be moved over considerable distances.
As a result of the mortar hits on the ashes, clouds of dust are formed, which are blown by the wind in the vicinity of Energodar. Monitoring of the radiation background, which is carried out near the nuclear power plant, indicates an increase in the level of radiation. The occupiers are trying to present these data as the result of the mythical “attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.
Norway and Great Britain join forces to acquire the Norwegian Black Hornet micro-drone to send to Ukraine.
The package, costing up to NOK 90m (around £8m), includes Black Hornet units, spares, transport 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 Defense this Wednesday.
The Norwegian-developed drone is used for reconnaissance and target identification. It is easy to operate, robust, difficult to detect and particularly suitable for combat in urban areas, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said.
A Black Hornet nano drone seen with a military personnel training area near Salisbury, UK. Photograph: Reuters
The micro-drone will be purchased from Teledyne Flir, as part of a framework agreement held by Norway’s defense materiel agency. The acquisition, training and delivery of the material will be done in collaboration and coordination with the British authorities.
An anti-drone system will also be purchased for approximately 100 million Norwegian funds from the fund. The system of choice is the Nightfighter anti-drone system from British SteelRock Technologies.
SteelRock Nightfighter is a portable system that provides protection against drones through effective blocking. The system is particularly suitable for protecting smaller patrols, artillery positions and other important assets
Updated at 06.12 BST
Rupert Neate
A $75 million superyacht linked to a Russian steel billionaire has gone up for auction in Gibraltar in the first sale of an oligarch’s assets since Putin invaded Ukraine in February.
The 72.5-metre-long Axioma was seized from steel billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky in March following sanctions from the UK, EU and US.
Ukraine’s admiralty marshal’s office said on Tuesday that “63 bids have been received” for Axioma, but declined to detail the value of bids for the yacht, which has six luxurious cabins guests, a swimming pool, a 3D cinema room, gym, jacuzzi and a fully equipped spa.
The superyacht Axioma belonging to Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky in Gibraltar in March. Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters
“The successful bidder will be selected by the Admiralty Marshal, but the details of the bidder and the value of the bid will remain confidential,” the court said in a statement. “Details of the vessel’s sale value will be available once the transaction has been completed, which could take place in around 10 to 14 days.”
The sale of Axioma has generated controversy because it is not being sold for the benefit of the Ukrainian people but for an American investment bank, JP Morgan, which claims that Pumpyansky owes it more than 20.5 million euros (17 million of pounds sterling).
The UN is concerned about the trials of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia
The UN has said it is “deeply concerned” by plans by Russian-backed authorities to hold trials for Ukrainian soldiers captured in Mariupol.
Pro-Russian officials appear to be installing metal cages in a Mariupol courtroom as part of plans to set up what they called an “international court,” a spokesman for the U.N. rights office said, and he added that this process could constitute a war crime. .
Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, cited reports that Russia and its separatist allies in eastern Ukraine plan to try Ukrainian prisoners of war, possibly in the coming days.
According to Russian media reports, Russian authorities have arrested politician Yevgeny Roizman known for his criticism of the Kremlin and, more recently, the military campaign in Ukraine.
Roizman, a former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg, is being investigated for “discrediting the Russian military,” Russia’s state media agency Tass reported, citing Yekaterinburg’s security services.
“A criminal case has been opened under Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation… Investigative actions are being carried out,” a police source told RIA Novosti.
Russian opposition figure and former mayor of Yekaterinburg Yevgeny Roizman has been arrested. Photograph: Alexei Vladykin/AFP/Getty Images
Roizman was one of the few Kremlin critics to win mayoral posts after a series of large opposition demonstrations when Russian President Vladimir Putin campaigned for office in 2012.
Russian authorities have prosecuted a number of activists for calling the war in Ukraine a war or for criticizing Russia’s actions.
Germany will also supply Ukraine with another 500 million euros in military aid, most of it due for delivery next year, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.
The team will include three IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems, “around a dozen armed recovery vehicles, 20 pick-up-mounted rocket launchers … precision munitions and anti-drone equipment,” a spokesman told the Agence France-Presse.
Most of it will be delivered in 2023, he added.
The US will provide $3 billion in military aid
The United States will announce a new security assistance package for Ukraine of around $3 billion (£2.5 billion), officials said, to coincide with Ukraine’s independence day and to equip the country for a war of attrition fought mainly in eastern and southern Ukraine. .
US security assistance is shifting to a long-term campaign that will likely keep more US military troops in Europe in the future and help train and equip Ukrainian forces to fight for years to come.
US officials told The Associated Press that the package is expected to be announced on Wednesday. The money will fund contracts for up to three types of drones and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two, they said.
The total aid package, which is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and is the largest to date, could change slightly from day to day, but probably not much. Officials said it will include money for the small, hand-launched Puma drones, the heavier-duty Scan Eagle surveillance drones, which are launched by catapult, and, for the first time, Britain’s Vampire drone system, which can be launched. ships
Unlike most previous packages, the new funding is largely aimed at helping Ukraine secure its mid- to long-term defense posture, according to officials familiar with the matter. Previous shipments, mostly made under the Presidential Withdrawal Authority, have focused on Ukraine’s most immediate needs for weapons and ammunition and include material the Pentagon already has in stock that can be shipped on short notice.
UN nuclear agency expects to visit Zaporizhzhia plant ‘within days’
The UN nuclear watchdog will visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine “in the coming days if ongoing negotiations are successful,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday renewed its request to assess safety and security at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, which Russia and Ukraine s ‘accen each other to bombard, causing warnings of a possible…