Ukraine said Russia bombed the Zaporizhzhya region, home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, where recent fighting has triggered fears of a catastrophic nuclear incident, as the United States warned that Moscow was planning attacks on infrastructure and government facilities to coincide with Ukraine's Independence day.
Ukraine's General Staff said on August 23 that Russian forces continued to rain rockets and artillery shells on Ukrainian cities, hitting Nikopol, Krivyi Rih and Synelnykovsky, all close to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant.
Regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram that at least four people were wounded in the attacks overnight.
In separate statements, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and a U.S. official both warned of Russian plans to strike civilian and government infrastructure in the coming days.
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“We have information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days," the unnamed official was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"Given Russia’s track record in Ukraine, we are concerned about the continued threat that Russian strikes pose to civilians and civilian infrastructure," the official said, adding that his statement was based on U.S. intelligence.
His warning came as Ukrainian authorities banned public celebrations in the capital, Kyiv, this week marking 31 years of independence from Soviet rule, citing a heightened threat of attack. Ukraine's Independence Day, on August 24, coincides with the six-month milestone of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that Russia could do "something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel" this week.
Ukraine's intelligence service has warned of a possible increase in hacker attacks on Ukrainian sites on August 24.
Meanwhile, Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv on August 23 to discuss further support for Ukraine, including military aid, the head of his office, Pawel Szrot, said.
Separately, Moscow has requested a UN Security Council meeting be held on August 23 to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy.
Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy says nearly 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia launched its ongoing unprovoked invasion half a year ago.
Both sides in the war have been extremely cautious in revealing any casualty figures. The last time Ukrainian officials announced losses in the armed forces was in April, when President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that up to 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 10,000 injured.
Moscow, meanwhile, classifies military deaths as state secrets and has rarely updated its official casualty figures. On March 25, the last time official figures were given, it said 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed.
Ukrainian officials have put Russian losses at nearly 45,500 troops.