Ahead of Ukrainian Independence Day, Zelensky warns of ‘violent’ attack by Moscow

Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged caution as Ukraine prepared to celebrate Independence Day the following week, after a spate of explosions in Crimea and the injury of 12 people by a missile near a nuclear power station.

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At the conclusion of his nightly video speech, Zelensky urged Ukrainians to resist Moscow’s attempts to “spread melancholy and terror” on the occasion of their 31st anniversary of freedom from Soviet domination.

“We must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something particularly ugly, something particularly vicious,” Zelensky said ahead of the anniversary on Aug. 24, which also marks six months since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

The bombardment near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s biggest, and the attack on the Pivdennoukrainsk (South Ukraine) nuclear power plant have renewed concerns of a nuclear disaster, Ukrainian authorities have claimed.

The Ukrainian province of Crimea was invaded by Russia in 2014 and then annexed by Moscow. In his talk, Zelensky made a cryptic reference to the recent explosions there.

Despite the fact that Ukraine hasn’t taken credit for the strikes, experts have speculated that the introduction of cutting-edge technology into the Ukrainian military may have enabled at least some of them.

“You can literally feel Crimea in the air this year, that the occupation there is only temporary and that Ukraine is coming back,” Zelensky said.

The Russian-appointed governor of Crimea, who is not recognised by the West, claimed on Saturday that a drone had attacked a structure near the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

“There was an incident with a drone landing on top of the building. A low altitude flight was being made by it “Mikhail Razvozhayev, governor, made this statement through Telegram. “It was shot down just over the Fleet’s command centre. As it landed on the roof, it caught fire. The assault was stopped.”

Later, Razvozhayev said that the area’s anti-aircraft system had resumed operations and pleaded with locals to cease shooting and sharing footage of the system in action.

Explosions were heard in Yevpatoriya, Olenivka, and Zaozyornoye, according to Ukrainian media.

(With inputs from Reuters)