August 24 is a date that counts double for Ukraine, much to the chagrin of the Ukrainian president. Russia could “do something particularly disgusting” and “cruel” next week in Ukraine, when the latter celebrates its Independence Day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Saturday evening. “Russia might strive to do something particularly disgusting, particularly cruel,” Mr. Zelensky said in his traditional address.
“A key objective of the enemy is to humiliate us”, to “sow despondency, fear and conflict”, but “we must be strong enough to resist any provocation” and “make the occupiers pay for their terror,” he added. Ukraine celebrates its independence from the USSR in 1991 on August 24. This year, this date will also mark the six months of the Russian invasion which killed tens of thousands of people and caused massive destruction in this country.
In this context, the governor of the Kharkiv region (center-east), has already announced on Saturday a long curfew planned from the evening of August 23 to the morning of August 25. “Let us not allow any provocation to the enemy. Let us be as vigilant as possible during our Independence Day,” Governor Oleg Synegoubov argued on Telegram.
The Russians are concentrating their offensive in the east of the country.
After failing to take kyiv, the Russians concentrated their efforts in the industrial east and the agricultural south of Ukraine. The pro-kyiv governor of the Donetsk region (East) Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on Sunday that four civilians were killed and two others injured the day before by Russians in this territory. In the Kharkiv region (center-east), two civilians were injured in Russian bombardments during the night, for its part indicated the State service for emergency situations.
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The Odessa region (south) was targeted by five Russian Kalibr-type cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea, said the spokesman for the regional administration Serguiï Bratchouk. Two were shot down by anti-aircraft defense and three others hit a silo with no casualties, he added. “The enemy is trying to continue its offensive in the Donetsk region” and has succeeded in occupying part of the locality Blagodatné in the Mykolaiv region (South), for its part declared the Ukrainian army in its morning report on Facebook . She also warned of the risk of Russian strikes from Belarus, an ally of Moscow.