The US has said it thinks Russia will “step up” efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days and has urged its citizens to leave the country.
The warning from the embassy in Kyiv is the first specific security alert it has issued in recent months and comes after a ban by the Ukrainian government on celebrations in the capital to mark Wednesday’s anniversary of independence from Soviet rule because of fears of attack.
Dnipro’s mayor, Borys Filatov, said Russia had launched a rocket at the city on Tuesday morning. “Please stay in the [bomb] shelters,” Filatov wrote on his Telegram channel. “There is information that rocket fragments have fallen on private houses. More information will come later.”
Despite its proximity to the frontlines and status as a military hub, Dnipro has been hit infrequently since Russia launched its invasion in March. Wednesday also marks the six-month anniversary of the war.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Tuesday there would be a powerful response to any attacks by Moscow on Ukrainian cities or towns in or around Ukraine’s independence day.
Speaking at a press conference with Andrzej Duda shortly after the Polish president’s arrival in Kyiv, Zelenskiy said he had information from Ukraine’s intelligence services and international partners that there was an increased threat but stressed that the threat from Russia had remained daily and constant since 24 February.
Duda, one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters, is meeting Zelenskiy to discuss further support for Ukraine, including military aid.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine planned to restore world order by regaining control over Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. “It all began with Crimea, and it will end with Crimea,” said Zelenskiy, at an online conference on Crimea attended by representatives of 60 states.
Kyiv is far from the frontlines and has rarely been hit by Russian missiles since Ukraine repelled a ground offensive to seize the capital in March. Some restaurants have been closing early this week because of the perceived increased threat.
“The department of state has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the US embassy said in a statement. US citizens should leave Ukraine “now” by their own means if it was safe to do so, it said.
Ukraine’s defence ministry has advised Ukrainians to be especially careful on independence day, citing the threat of missile attacks and “provocations” from Russia.
“Russia and the Putin regime attacked the independence of Ukraine and independent Ukraine. They 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 on Ukrainian state TV.
Ukraine’s authorities have cancelled celebrations amid increased security concerns. Instead of the traditional parade down Kyiv’s main street, authorities have lined the tarmac with captured and destroyed Russian military equipment.
Ukraine has been bracing for an intensification of Russian missile attacks after a car bomb killed the daughter of the ultranationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin on Saturday night. After the attack, which Russian security services blamed on Ukraine, a host of prominent pro-Putin figures called for revenge. Ukraine denies responsibility.
At Darya Dugina’s funeral in Moscow on Tuesday her father said she died in the name of victory for Russia and the Russian people.
Truly unbelievable speech from Dugin at the funeral of his own daughter Daria, whom he is elevating as a martyr for the cause of Russia’s victory in Ukraine. Only victory can justify the price she paid, he says: “She died in the name of victory.” pic.twitter.com/FBIJQ1zLEu
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) August 23, 2022
The head of Ukraine’s security and defence council, Oleksiy Danilov, said he expected Russia’s security services to stage a series of terrorist attacks in Russian cities, resulting in civilian losses in an attempt to reignite domestic support for the war. Danilov said he believed the killing of Dugina was the first such attack.
Ukraine’s armed forces said on Sunday night that Russia had closed the airspace in the Russian border regions of Lipetsk, Voronezh and other locations between 22-25 August.
A spokesperson for the UN rights office said it was concerned about Russian attempts to try Ukrainian prisoners of war in the coming days, saying the process could amount to a war crime.
“We are very concerned about the manner in which this is being done. There are pictures in the media of cages being built in Mariupol’s philharmonic hall, really massive cages and apparently the idea is to restrain the prisoners,” Ravina Shamdasani told a UN briefing. “This is not acceptable, this is humiliating.” Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war to the right to a fair trial amounted to a war crime by Russia, she added.
Zelenskiy has said that if Russia puts the prisoners on trial it will eliminate the possibility of talks with Moscow. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, called on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene and prevent the trial.
