2023-08-09 06:43:41
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of a targeted attack on rescue workers in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Monday. He also announced this year’s meeting of the Crimean International Platform for August 23. Drones flew over Moscow again on Wednesday night. And Poland announced the strengthening of its border with neighboring Belarus.
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has now lasted more than 17 months. During this time, Russian troops repeatedly fired on civilian objects, cities and towns. At the end of July, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNCHR) estimated the number of Ukrainian civilian deaths since the beginning of the Russian invasion at more than 9,300. The actual number is likely to be higher.
Zelenskyj condemns attack on rescue workers
After the double rocket attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, Zelenskyj accused Russia of a targeted attack on rescue workers. “It was a conscious decision by the terrorists to inflict as much pain and damage as possible,” said the President in his evening video message on Tuesday. According to local authorities, two Iskander missiles hit the city center 40 minutes apart on Monday evening. The number of dead has now risen to 9, and 82 others were injured, Zelenskyj said.
The second impact is said to have occurred when the Ukrainian first responders had already started the rescue work. Security and rescue workers who rushed to help after the first attack were among the victims.
Zelenskyy also announced this year’s meeting of the Crimean International Platform for August 23. The platform was launched in 2021 by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to diplomatically reverse the incorporation of the Black Sea Peninsula by Russia if possible. The campaign is supported by well over 40 countries, and NATO, the EU and the G-7 countries are also involved.
Moscow: Another drone attack repelled
According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, the Russian capital Moscow has again become the target of an attempted drone attack. Two drones were shot down by anti-aircraft defenses, Sobyanin said on Wednesday morning in his blog on the Telegram news service. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, there were no injuries or damage.
The ministry blamed the “Kiev regime” for the attacks. The metropolis has been the target of drone attacks several times. This was the last time at the end of July/beginning of August when the facade of a glass tower in the Moskva City skyscraper district was also hit.
However, the attacks bear no relation to the mass attacks by Russia against Ukraine. Moscow repeatedly fired drones, rockets and cruise missiles at the capital Kiev.
Poland strengthens border with Belarus
To strengthen border protection, Poland is moving more soldiers to its border with neighboring Belarus. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has approved a request from the border guards, the ministry told the PAP news agency on Tuesday. The Ministry of Defense did not specify how many soldiers should be seconded. The border guard had asked for 1,000 more men and women on Monday. Like Lithuania, Poland is concerned about the activities of Russian Wagner mercenaries in Belarus.
EU and NATO member Poland shares a 418-kilometer border with Belarus. The situation there escalated in 2021: Thousands of people tried to enter the EU illegally. The European Union accused the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of having organized migrants from crisis regions to the EU’s external border in order to put pressure on the West.
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According to earlier information, 5,000 border guards and 2,000 soldiers are already deployed on Poland’s eastern border with Belarus, which is also the external border of the EU and NATO. They should also get help from 500 police officers.
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