Russian ammunition depot on fire, situation still tense in Crimea with a Ukrainian drone shot down in Sevastopol, meeting in Ukraine between Erdogan, Zelensky and Guterres, concern around the Zaporijjia power plant... On the 177th day of the conflict,
Le Figaro
reports point, this Tuesday, August 16, on the latest information from the war in Ukraine.
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Russian ammunition depot on fire
Two Russian villages were evacuated Thursday because of a fire that broke out in an ammunition depot near the border with Ukraine, local authorities said.
"
An ammunition depot caught fire near the village of Timonovo
", located less than 50 km from the Ukrainian border in the province of Belgorod, said in a press release the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov.
No casualties were reported, but residents of Timonovo and the nearby village of Soloti were "
moved to a safe distance
", he said, adding that authorities were investigating the reasons for the fire.
In a video posted on social media, a huge ball of fire could be seen releasing a thick column of black smoke.
In another, several explosions in close succession could be seen in the distance.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: between indifference and support for Russia, South American opinions under influence
The fire that broke out on Thursday comes amid an outbreak of explosions affecting Russian military installations in Crimea, with Russia acknowledging the latest incident as an act of "
sabotage
".
Ukrainian drone shot down in Crimea
The situation also remains tense in Crimea.
Russian forces shot down a drone on Thursday evening near the airport in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea and headquarters of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, according to local authorities.
“
According to preliminary data, a drone was shot down near Belbek airport by air defense.
There is no damage
, ”said the governor installed by Moscow in Crimea, Mikhail Razvojayev on Telegram.
Shortly before, the Russian anti-aircraft defense had been activated near the city of Kerch, also in Crimea, where there is a gigantic bridge connecting the peninsula to mainland Russia, built at great expense after the annexation and a true symbol of the Russification of the peninsula.
“
Air defense systems have been activated in Kerch.
There is no danger for the city or the bridge
, ”said a regional official, Oleg Krioutchkov, quoted by Russian press agencies.
Read alsoThe embarrassment of Moscow after a series of "sabotage" in Crimea attributed to kyiv
These systems aim to intercept and destroy projectiles or enemy aircraft that enter their range.
Damaging the Zaporizhia power plant would be "
suicide
", warns the UN
The UN secretary general warned on Thursday that any damage to Ukraine's Zaporizhia nuclear power plant would be "
suicide
", during a meeting in Lviv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"
We must say things as they are: any potential damage to Zaporijjia would be suicide
," said Antonio Guterres, calling once again to "
demilitarize
" the plant, occupied by the Russian army.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: "The recovery of Crimea is part of kyiv's main war objective"
Saying he was "
gravely concerned
" by the situation in Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Antonio Guterres called for it not to be used "
for any military operation whatsoever
".
Antonio Guterres continues his visit on Friday to Odessa, a Ukrainian port crucial for the resumption of grain exports blocked by the war.
Erdogan is alarmed by the danger of a "
new Chernobyl
"
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed Turkey's support for Ukraine and was alarmed at the danger of a "
new Chernobyl
", in reference to the largest civilian nuclear accident.
"
While we continue our efforts for a solution, we have been and continue to be on the side of our Ukrainian friends
," said Recep Tayyip Erdogan before adding that he does not want a "
new Chernobyl
" .
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Erdogan wants to establish himself as a mediator of the conflict
President Zelensky said on Thursday that the visit to Lviv by his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a "
powerful message of support
" for his country.
He ruled out any peace negotiations with Moscow without the prior withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine.
“
People who kill, rape, hit our civilian cities with cruise missiles every day cannot want peace.
They should leave our territory first, then we'll see
,” Volodymyr Zelensky told a press conference in Lviv, saying “
not to trust Russia
.”
New equipment for grain ships
The Zelensky-Erdogan-Guterres meeting comes against a backdrop of increasing negotiations to allow the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine, one of the world's leading producers and exporters.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is mediating on this subject, went to Russia in early August to talk about it with President Vladimir Putin.
Read alsoIn Moscow, Putin and his loyal go-to-war confiscate all power
A first humanitarian ship chartered by the UN, loaded with 23,000 tons of wheat, left Ukraine on Tuesday, heading for Ethiopia.
On Thursday, a vessel loaded with grain sailed, the 25th since the signing of the agreement, announced the Ukrainian port authorities.
In total, more than 600,000 tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products have since passed through the grain corridor from the ports of Odessa, Pivdenny and Chornomorsk.
Fighting continues in the northeast
Fighting also continues in the Kharkiv region (northeast), where the Ukrainians have accused the Russians of having bombed residential areas, killing six there on Thursday, after 13 the previous evening, and dozens injuries in total.
“Last night and this morning were the most tragic moments in Kharkiv since the beginning of the war,” its mayor Igor Terekhov said on Thursday, signaling that Friday would be a day of mourning for the victims.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: the army summons the “mobilizable” men
Located about forty kilometers from the Russian border, this city, the second largest in Ukraine, is regularly pounded by Russian soldiers, who have never managed to seize it.
Hundreds of civilians were killed in this region, according to the authorities.
In the south, one person died and two others were injured after a strike in Mykolaiv, announced its mayor, Oleksandr Senkevych.
A video raises doubts about the motivation of the pro-Russian forces
Part of the pro-Russian militia of the "
Republic
" of Lugansk (LNR), which makes up the Donbass with that of Donetsk (DNR), refuses to fight in the DNR, estimates the ISW, basing itself on a video visible on the Ukrainian social networks.
"
The soldiers claim to have celebrated the victory on July 3, when the LNR forces reached the borders of Lugansk, and that their work is finished
", says the American research center, which, if it says it cannot verify the authenticity of the video, ensures that this is part of a "
wider trend of decreasing investment
" of pro-Russian militias.
Some of the DNR troops had complained in a similar way in recent months when they had been reassigned to the Lugansk region or to Kherson (south), notes the ISW.
On Wednesday, the pro-Ukrainian governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported several Russian bombings that locally left at least two dead and 13 injured.
