US Warns Things Could Get Worse in Ukraine This Week

Russian attacks feared on Independence Day Wednesday
By Mike L. Ford,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2022 1:08 PM CDT
On Eve of Independence Day, Ukraine Braces
A woman stands amid debris after Russian shelling in Mykolaiv, Aug. 3, which damaged a pier, an industrial enterprise, residential buildings, and several commercial buildings. US officials warned that Russia is preparing renewed strikes ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug. 24.   (AP Photo/Kostiantyn Liberov)

The US embassy in Kyiv is imploring any American citizens still in Ukraine to leave, citing intel that Russia might launch attacks on civilian areas and government facilities in the coming days, reports the Wall Street Journal. The warning comes ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Wednesday, one that marks 31 years since Ukraine left the teetering Soviet Union. The day also marks the six-month anniversary of the Russian invasion. As such, there will be no celebrations or parades this year; instead, Ukrainian officials are instituting curfews and warning citizens to stay home.

Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s ministry of defense, said “missile attacks and other provocations” are likely on or around Wednesday, per CNN. "[The Russians] are crazy about dates and symbols,” Yusov said, “so it would be quite logical to ... be prepared for the fact that Independence Day will also be attacked.” President Volodymyr Zelensky also warned in a weekend video message that “we must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something particularly ugly, something particularly vicious" in the coming days.

The warnings follow the murder of Darya Dugina—daughter of ultranationalist Alexander Dugin—in a car bomb attack on Saturday, as well as a series of attacks far behind Russian lines, including a military airfield in Crimea and strikes on several ammunition depots and command posts in occupied areas. Meanwhile, as the New York Times reports, a skeleton crew of “stressed, tired, and scared workers” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are “all that stands between the world and nuclear disaster.” And in a possible signal that Ukraine is preparing for new counteroffensives, the Pentagon on Friday announced an $800 million assistance package that reportedly includes short-range TOW missiles, armored mine-clearing vehicles, and other weaponry suitable for “closer combat,” according to the Washington Post. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

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