Russian forces continued to pound targets in jap and southern Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated his warning that Moscow could also be getting ready extra critical assaults forward of Kyiv’s thirty first independence anniversary.

Native authorities in Kyiv banned giant public occasions, rallies, and different gatherings associated to the anniversary because of the opportunity of rocket assaults, in keeping with a doc printed by the Kyiv navy administration.

Ukraine’s Common Employees mentioned in its each day replace on August 22 that, within the jap Bakhmut area, hearth from Russian artillery and a number of rocket launcher programs brought on harm within the settlements of Soledar, Zaytseve, and Bilohorivka.

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Russian forces stored concentrating their efforts on establishing full management over the territories of the jap Luhansk and Donetsk areas, sustaining captured areas of town of Kherson and elements of the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, and Mykolayiv areas, the Common Employees added.

Town of Nikopol, which lies throughout the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, was shelled on 5 completely different events in a single day, regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram on August 21.

He mentioned 25 artillery shells hit town, inflicting a hearth at an industrial facility and reducing energy to three,000 residents.

The preventing close to Zaporizhzhya and a missile strike on the southern city of Voznesensk, not removed from Ukraine’s second-largest atomic plant, have triggered fears of a nuclear accident.

Moscow requested a UN Safety Council assembly be held on August 23 to debate the plant, Russian state-owned information company RIA Novosti reported, citing Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy.

On August 21, U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephone name stressing the significance of making certain the protection of nuclear installations, whereas underlining their “steadfast dedication” to Ukraine.

Zelenskiy has referred to as for vigilance, saying Moscow might attempt “one thing notably ugly” forward of August 24, which marks Ukraine’s Independence Day and in addition half a yr since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskiy mentioned he had mentioned “all of the threats” with Macron and phrase had additionally been despatched to different leaders together with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres.

“All of Ukraine’s companions have been knowledgeable about what the terrorist state can put together for this week,” Zelenskiy mentioned in his nightly video tackle, referring to Russia.

Zelenskiy additionally warned that, if Russia went forward with plans to place captured Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol on trial, then it could have violated worldwide guidelines and lower itself off from negotiations.

“If this despicable present trial have been to go forward…this could be the road past which negotiations are not potential,” he mentioned. “There will likely be no extra conversations. Our state has mentioned every little thing.”

The Monetary Occasions, in an article printed August 21, quoted Gennady Gatilov, Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, as saying that Erdogan had tried to facilitate dialogue.

However he dismissed hypothesis about talks between Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there “was not any sensible platform for having this assembly,” the report mentioned.

Russia mentioned its Kalibr missiles had destroyed an ammunition depot containing missiles for U.S.-made HIMARS rocket in Ukraine’s southeastern Odesa area, whereas Kyiv mentioned a granary had been hit.

Neither declare might be independently confirmed.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa