On the eve of Ukraine's independence day and the hal🌳f-year mark of Russia's invasion of its neighbour, there was increasing unease in the country on Tuesday that Moscow could be centering on specific government and civilian targets during the holid⛎ay.
The United States reinforced those concerns when its embassy in Kyiv issued a securi🦩ty alert, saying it “has i𝓀nformation that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days.”
Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy already sensed a🅰 threat coming ꦉwhen he said in his daily address that “we should be aware that this week Russia may try to do something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel.”
The warnings come on the heels of Russia's claim that Ukrainian intelligꦯence was responsible for the car bombing that killed the daughter of a leading right-wing Russian political thinker over the weeke💧nd.
Ukraine denied involvement. Daryဣa Dugina, a 29-year-old commentator wi🤡th a nationalist Russian TV channel, died when a remotely controlled explosive device planted in her SUV blew up on Saturday night as she was driving on the outskirts of Moscow.
The sense of dread pervading the war centres in part on Europe's largest nuclear power plant, at Zaporizhzhia🍌 in southeastern Ukraine, where continued shelling and fighting in the area has raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres late Monday warn🧸ed about the nuclear 🌠threat in general, particularly since Russia alluded to its massive nuclear arsenal early in the war.
Gute🌳rres demanded a halt to “nuclear saber-rattling” on Monday, saying the world is at a “maximum moment of danger” and all countries with nuclear weap✤ons must make a commitment to “no first-use".
That didn't prevent shelling close to Zaporizhzhia early Tuesday. Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko s𒐪aid Russian forces fired 𓂃on nearby Marhanets and Nikopol on the right bank of the Dnieper River, continuing weeks of relentless overnight shelling.
Amid the death and destruct🐟ion, there was one small point of light. All professional soccer was stopped in February, but a new league season starts on Tuesda🥃y in Kyiv.
The Olympic Stadium will see the the opening-day meeting of Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 from Kharkiv — teams from east🌌ern cities that are fighting for their ve𝕴ry existence.
No fans will be allowed in the 65,000-capacity downtown stadium for the kickoff at 1 pm local time, and the players m🌌ust be rushed to bomb she🤪lters if air-raid sirens sound.
"The teams, the players will be proud of this event,” Shakhtar captain Taras Stepanenko sa💜id Monday in a tꦫelephone interview with The Associated Press.
