New explosions shook Crimea this morning, a Ukrainian region occupied by Russia for years, on the 174th day of the war between Moscow and Kiev.
A fire broke out in a temporary ammunition depot of a Russian base in the northern district of Dzhankoy, and according to the governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, two civilians were injured.
Meanwhile, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin , has returned to accuse the West , which he believes is responsible for using Ukraine as "cannon fodder". According to Putin, the United States in particular wants to prolong the duration of the conflict . From Moscow, Defense Minister Shoigu also specified that Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons to achieve its objectives.
While the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky removed the heads of the security services departments in the Kiev, Ternopil and Lviv regions, the first humanitarian ship chartered by the United Nations to transport Ukrainian cereals departed this morning from the port of Pivdenny, in southern Ukraine, with a load of about 23,000 tons of grain destined for Africa.
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Updates by the hour:
Zelensky-Erdogan-Guterres Summit
On Thursday in Ukraine there will be a trilateral meeting between UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky. This was announced by the spokesman of the United Nations.
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Kiev, Ukrainian elite unit behind the attack on Crimea
A senior Ukrainian official, speaking to the New York Times on condition of anonymity, said the explosions at the Crimean military base were triggered by an elite Ukrainian military unit operating behind enemy lines. The NYT recalls that the Russian Defense Ministry spoke of an "act of sabotage".
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Macron: "Russian troops leave the Zaporizhzhia plant"
Emmanuel Macron has appealed to Moscow to withdraw his troops from the Zaporizhzhia plant. The situation around the nuclear plant, where raids have been going on for days (between Moscow-Kiev exchanges of accusations), was the focus of a telephone conversation between the French president and his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Kiev, Russian raids in the north from Belarus
Russia has launched a missile attack on the Zhytomyr district in northern Ukraine: the governor of the region Vitaliy Bunyechko said on Telegram. "Attention. Two explosions have been confirmed in the territory of the Zhytomyr district following an enemy missile attack," Bunychenko wrote, adding that "according to preliminary information, the rockets that hit the district today were launched from the territory of the Belarus ". The senior official added that "there were no casualties".
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Ukrainian ambassador to the Vatican: "The Pope comes to Bucha"
The program of a visit by Pope Francis to Ukraine is still "the subject of negotiation" but "for sure, the Ukrainian side will be proposed and we expect the Pope to come to Kiev" and from there then, "to move to where the bodies lie of the innocent victims massacred by the Russian army last March to pause in prayer as happened in Bucha, just 15 km from Kiev where about 1400 victims were found ". This was said in an interview by the ambassador of Kiev to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash.
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Kiev: "We will also liberate Crimea"
The operation of "demilitarization" by the Armed Forces will continue until the complete liberation of the occupied Ukrainian territories: the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Andriy Yermak, writes on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.
"The high-precision-style demilitarization operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue until the complete liberation of the Ukrainian (occupied) territories. Our soldiers are the best sponsors of our good mood. Crimea is Ukraine," says Yermak.
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With emergency evacuation to the nuclear power plant for 400 thousand
In the event of an emergency at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant of Zaporizhzhia occupied by Russian forces, at least 400,000 people should be evacuated: the head of the military administration of the homonymous region, Oleksandr Starukh, told the Apostrophe TV broadcaster, Oleksandr Starukh, according to Ukrinform.
Starukh explained that the situation in Enerhodar, the city that hosts the power plant, is considered "dangerous" and that the evacuation plan of the city and the area at risk of radiation contamination is currently being adjusted, taking into account recent developments. military.
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Kiev: "Explosions in Crimea are the beginning of demilitarization"
Today's explosions at a military base near the city of Dzhankoi, in the Russian-occupied Crimea, represent the beginning of the "demilitarization" of the peninsula: the advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, writes on Twitter. Ukrinform reports it.
For his part, the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, said that a Russian ammunition warehouse at the Dzhankoi base was hit.
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Moscow: "Plans to weaken us economically have failed"
Ukrainian military operations are planned by Washington and London, but the western plans of
economically weaken Russia have failed: Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said today, stressing that Western forces are leading Kiev in the hybrid war against Russia. Tass reports it. Furthermore, according to Shoigu, NATO began deploying additional forces on its eastern flank before the start of the so-called Russian 'special operation' in Ukraine: a strengthening that completes the degradation of the arms control mechanisms established in Europe during the Cold War.
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Moscow, no nuclear weapons are needed to achieve goals
Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons to achieve its goals in Ukraine: the leaders of the Russian army say so, according to reports from Tass.
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Russia places conditions on the IAEA visit to the Zaporizhzhia plant
The United Nations has the logistical and security capacity to assist in a visit by the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea) to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, a UN spokesman said. However, a Russian diplomat has imposed conditions, stating that any mission must not go through the Ukrainian capital as it is too dangerous. The Guardian reports it. Moscow said Sunday that the IAEA "should not postpone the visit" to the plant and should send a mission to the plant "in late August or early September".
(Unioneonline)