Russian troops launched several missile attacks on the Odessa region in the early hours of today. Thus opens the 175th day of war between Moscow and Kiev.
The bombing took place between 2:50 am and 3:30 am local time (3:50 am and 4:30 am in Italy), explains the head of the regional military administration Serhii Bratchuk. At the moment there is no information yet on possible damages and victims, specifies the source.
Meanwhile Zelensky appeals to his followers: "Every day and night we see new reports of explosions in the territory temporarily occupied by the invaders. And now I ask all our people in Crimea, in other regions of southern Ukraine, in the areas take care of the Donbass and the Kharkiv region to pay close attention. Please do not go near the military installations of the Russian army and all those places where they store ammunition and equipment and where they have their headquarters ". "The less opportunities the occupiers have to harm and kill the Ukrainians - continued Zelensky - the sooner we will be able to end this war by freeing our land".
During the night, the Ukrainian public agency for nuclear energy, Energoatom , denounced an "unprecedented" Russian cyber attack against its official website, specifying that the operation of the portal had not been interrupted. "On August 16, 2022, the most powerful cyber attack since the Russian invasion took place against the official Energoatom website," reads a note on Telegram. The site "was attacked from Russian territory", the note states.
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Updates by the hour:
The UN secretary general in Lviv
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Lviv in western Ukraine. This was reported by Tass citing the office of the head of the UN Headquarters. A summit is scheduled for tomorrow in Lviv between Guterres, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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London: "Russians increasingly worried about Crimea"
"Russian commanders are increasingly concerned about the deterioration of security across Crimea, which acts as a rear line for the occupation" of Ukraine. British intelligence claims this in the latest report released by the London Ministry of Defense, after the recent explosions that hit the Black Sea peninsula.
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Kiev: "We will continue to fight back"
Ukraine is engaged in a counter-offensive aimed at creating "chaos within the forces
Russian ", hitting the supply lines of the invaders in the occupied territories. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in an interview with the Guardian. Podolyak said there could be more attacks in the" next two or three months "similar to those of yesterday in the Crimea, which put Russian tourists on the run, as well as to that of last week against the Saky air base, also on the peninsula.
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Latvia sends new military aid
Latvia donated four helicopters and six howitzers with related ammunition to Ukraine for their operation. This was announced by the Latvian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. The helicopters sent (MI-17 and MI-2) are long-time models in force in the Latvian army and easily usable by Ukrainian pilots. In recent months, Latvia had supplied personal equipment, air vehicles, freeze-dried food rations, ammunition, anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft missiles, becoming one of the largest per capita donors of arms to Ukraine.
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Kiev, two Russian missiles against Mykolaiv University
Russian forces fired two missiles in the night against the National University of the Black Sea named after Peter Mohyla, which is located in Mykolaiv. This was stated on Telegram by the mayor of the Ukrainian city, Oleksander Sienkevych, quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper. "A few days ago I posted a video and showed that there is no military base there and that university employees work there", he specified. Sienkevych said that at the time of the bombing only the security guard was inside the university and that she was not injured, but the shrapnel and the shock wave damaged the houses in front of the institute.
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Missile attacks on Odessa: three injured
Three civilians were injured in missile attacks launched this morning by Russian forces against the Odessa region: this was stated by Serhii Bratchuk, head of the regional military administration, quoted by the news agency Ukrinform. The raids caused "destruction and a fire in a recreation center in the Odessa region and several private buildings nearby," he added, specifying that rescue operations are underway.
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Four ships with grain left from Odessa and Chornomorsk
"This morning, four other ships carrying flour, sunflower oil and corn left the Ukrainian ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk." This was announced by the Turkish Defense Ministry in a statement according to which "shipments of grain from the ports of Ukraine continue as planned". After grain exports from Ukraine through safe corridors in the Black Sea were unblocked, 36 ships - from 1 to 15 August - were cleared to depart from Ukrainian ports or to join them to load grain and other food products. To date, the ships departed from Ukraine are 21 in all.
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Ukraine: three-storey building collapses in Lugansk, five dead
A building collapsed in the city of Lisichansk, located in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), in Donbass, killing five people. This was announced by the officer of the local LPR militia, Andrey Marochko, quoted by the Tass news agency. "A three-story building collapsed, killing five people," the officer wrote on Telegram, adding that the incident occurred yesterday. Marochko added that four people could be buried under the rubble and a rescue operation is underway, as are efforts to establish the cause of the accident.
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Lloyd calls Reznikov, point on assistance to safety
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov about "Ukraine's immediate and long-term security assistance needs". The Pentagon reports in a note. Reznikov provided an update on the situation on the ground. The two ministers also talked about the upcoming meeting of the contact group on Ukraine.
(Unioneonline)