Zelenskyy: Ukraine gives Russia "in the face"

Created: 08/24/2022, 09:13

By: Nadja Austel, Vincent Büssow, Jan-Frederik Wendt, Christian Stör, Tanja Koch

Russia has allegedly attacked Ukraine's infrastructure again.

Selenskyj continues to pledge his country: the news ticker on Wednesday, August 24th.

• Dnipro Bridge:

  Russia is working on a temporary bridge

• Crimea summit:

  An online summit on the repatriation of Crimea is scheduled to take place on Tuesday

• Anti-aircraft defenses over Crimea:

  Ukrainian attack attempt repelled

• Editor

  's note: You can read all the news about the Ukraine conflict in this news ticker.

  Some of the information comes from warring factions in the Ukraine war and cannot be checked directly and independently.

+++ 9.11 a.m .:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has again strengthened his country’s defensive struggle.

With its attacks and acts of violence, Russia shows that it does not want to negotiate, Zelensky said at the end of an international conference on Russian-occupied Crimea.

Ukraine tries in vain to make this clear to the world.

“They have decided to occupy our country.

When they made that decision in 2014, the world didn't just punch them in the face, and so they went on and on and on.

But we'll give them a face," said Zelenskyy.

In 2014, the Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia - without major consequences for the country.

The forum in Kyiv was now intended to discuss the repatriation of the annexed territories. 

The first Crimean platform took place a year ago.

At the follow-up event, Zelenskyj warned of increased attacks from Russia on Ukraine's Independence Day.

(Archive image) © dpa

Update from Wednesday, August 24, 6:49 a.m .:

The Russian army attacked the infrastructure of Zaporizhia again on Wednesday night (August 24).

This is reported by the

portal , citing reports from the city's mayor, Anatolii Kurtiev.

According to the portal, the attacks have not yet been officially confirmed, but helpers are already on site and checking the situation.

Ukraine War: Heavy attacks on Donetsk - administration building hit

+++ 6.45 p.m .:

The separatists in eastern Ukraine, controlled by Russia, have reported heavy attacks on the city of Donetsk by the Ukrainian army.

Among other things, the administration building of separatist leader Denis Puschilin was hit, the self-proclaimed territorial defense of Donetsk announced on Telegram on Tuesday.

Puschilin himself was not injured, but three civilians were killed.

This could not be verified independently.

The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope

View photo gallery

Also initially unverifiable was the claim that the Ukrainians had fired at Donetsk with Himars missiles supplied by the USA.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry announced that it had advanced a few dozen square kilometers in the southern areas of Cherson and Mykolaiv.

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US shares Ukrainian concerns and warns Moscow

Zelenskyy on Ukrainian Independence Day: "Put Russia in your face"

Around 60 percent of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk is under Russian control.

After conquering the neighboring Luhansk region, one of Moscow's main war aims is to bring Donetsk under its own troops' full control.

According to international observers, the Russians are still making slow progress six months after invading Ukraine.

Ukraine War News: Tensions with Russia are rising

+++ 4:45 p.m .:

In the run-up to Ukraine’s Independence Day, tensions between the warring nations are increasing.

Ukraine is bracing for increased attacks from Russia amid fears Putin is using the August 24 holiday to send a signal.

At a press conference as part of the Crimea platform (see update from Monday at 8:45 p.m.), Ukrainian President Zelenskyy now announced a “strong response” if these expectations are met.

This was reported by the

portal .

The USA also fears increased attacks on the holiday.

The embassy in Kyiv called on all US citizens to "leave Ukraine immediately."

+++ 3:15 p.m .:

Russia is apparently expanding its military presence in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

This is reported by the state power plant operator of Ukraine Energoatom.

Accordingly, on Monday (August 22), Russian troops brought two armored personnel carriers and six trucks to the site.

In addition, the number of soldiers is said to have been increased.

The situation around the nuclear power plant has been tense for weeks.

As recently as Friday (August 19), Energoatom announced that Russia was planning a major false flag operation near Zaporizhia.

+++ 10.50 a.m .:

According to the Ukrainian military, Russia is continuing its attacks in the area around the largest European nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia.

The general staff said there had been artillery fire and air raids on several locations again.

Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the nuclear power plant area.

The nuclear power plant has been occupied by Russian troops since March, but continues to be operated by Ukrainian technicians.

News about the Ukraine war: Russia wants to replace the destroyed Dnipro bridge with pontoons

+++ 9.25 a.m .:

After the Ukrainian shelling of strategically important bridges over the Dnipro River, Russia is working on a temporary bridge, according to British assessments.

Russian troops are believed to have started positioning barges over the weekend to construct a pontoon bridge right next to the damaged Antonivsky Bridge, the Ministry of Defense in London said, citing intelligence information.

The bridge is of central importance for supplying Russian troops in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Cherson.

In the past few weeks, both the Russian military and the local population have been dependent on a ferry, it said.

"If Russia completes the improvised bridge, it will almost certainly increase the capacity of the crossing compared to the ferry." However, a pontoon bridge is very vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks, the ministry stressed.

Update from Tuesday, August 23, 6:25 a.m .:

According to the United States, Russia is preparing new attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure.

"We have information that Russia is planning increased attacks against civilian infrastructure and government facilities in Ukraine in the coming days," a US official said, citing US intelligence information.

"Given Russia's record in Ukraine, we are concerned about the continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure from Russian attacks."

+++ 10:55 p.m .:

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense warns all Ukrainians to prepare for attacks by the Russian armed forces on August 24, Ukrainian Independence Day.

A spokesman for the Supreme Intelligence Directorate assessed the danger as particularly high, reports

.

She quotes the speaker: "Russia and Putin's regime have attacked Ukraine's independence (...).

They're really obsessed with data and symbols, so it would be perfectly reasonable to be extra careful."

Air raid siren signals must be taken seriously.

Ukraine war news: Crimea summit scheduled for Tuesday

+++ 8.45 p.m .:

Six months after the start of the war, Ukraine wants to hold an online summit this Tuesday (August 23) to recapture Crimea, which Russia had already annexed in 2014.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, representatives of the attacked country repeatedly spoke of a military reconquest of the peninsula.

At the so-called Crimean Platform, which is taking place for the second time, a speech by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is expected.

Also speaking are Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

A total of over 50 participants from Europe, Asia, America and Africa have been announced.

+++ 6.40 p.m .:

After the attack on the daughter of the Kremlin intellectual Alexander Dugin, President Vladimir Putin called the attack a “disgraceful, cruel crime”.

As reported by Russian media, the actual target of the attack was Dugina's father, who is considered the Kremlin chief's mastermind.

The ultra-nationalist Dugin represents the ideology of uniting Russian-speaking regions in a new Russian empire.

Ukraine war: Massive rocket attacks near nuclear power plant - "Russian provocations"

+++ 5.30 p.m .:

Ukrainian authorities have warned residents near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant of a “Russian provocation”.

The head of the military administration of the Nikopol district particularly appealed to the people of Kakhovka to "leave the streets and avoid mass gatherings", according to the Ukrainian news portal

.

Nikopol is located directly opposite the power plant on the other side of the Dnieper River, while Kakhovka is a little further down the river.

Earlier, Ukraine's state nuclear company announced that Russia was planning a major false flag operation near Zaporizhia.

Russian troops use the power plant as a military base and from there repeatedly attack Ukrainian towns on the other side of the river.

News about the Ukraine war: rocket attacks in the Zaporizhia region

+++ 15.25:

Russia is said to have carried out massive rocket attacks in the Zaporizhia region.

Six towns near the nuclear power plant of the same name had been shot at, the Ukrainian National Police said on Monday (August 22).

Civilian infrastructure is said to have been destroyed in the attack.

In addition to residential buildings, there is a shopping area, a sports complex and a facility for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities.

It is not yet clear whether people were injured or killed in the attack.

The situation around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been tense for weeks.

Ukrainian authorities are now warning of a Russian provocation.

(Archive image) © Ed Jones/afp

+++ 1:45 p.m .:

The authorities in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev have banned all major events and rallies around Independence Day on August 24 for fear of Russian missile attacks.

The ban applies from Monday to Thursday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned over the weekend that Russia could do "something particularly evil" on the 31st anniversary of independence on August 24, which this time also marks the start of the Russian invasion six months ago.

Ukraine war news: detonations in ammunition depot

+++ 12.05 p.m .:

The Russian armed forces are apparently still trying to advance in eastern Ukraine.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the area around the industrial town of Bakhmut in the north of the Donetsk region has been attacked with artillery and rocket launchers.

It was also said that the Russian troops were trying to keep conquered areas in Cherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv.

Meanwhile, the shelling of the town of Nikopol near Zaporizhia has fueled concerns about the safety of Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

+++ 10:00 a.m .:

In an ammunition depot in Donetsk, which is occupied by Russia, there have apparently been detonations.

Russian state news agency

reports that Ukrainian troops hit warehouses near a supermarket.

Social media users posted videos of the explosions.

News about the Ukraine war: Unmotivated separatists?

They are said to be refusing Russian orders

Update from Monday, August 22, 8:45 a.m .:

According to British estimates, Russia is finding it increasingly difficult to motivate its auxiliary troops from the separatist areas for the Ukraine war.

Some commanders would probably promise their soldiers financial incentives, said the Ministry of Defense in London, citing intelligence findings.

Some formations would be considered unreliable and therefore not tasked with attacking.

The ministry referred to a video from mid-August in which members of a unit from the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People's Republic” are said to have refused to take part in offensive operations.

Despite threats and intimidation, the men did not want to continue fighting in the neighboring "Donetsk People's Republic".

The fact that Russia continues to classify the war as a "military special operation" contributes to these problems, it said in London.

Because without general mobilization, the state would have no legal recourse to force citizens into military service and will continue to be dependent on auxiliary troops.

News about the Ukraine war: Flying objects shot down over Crimea

First report from Monday, August 22nd:

Kiev/Moscow – The Ukraine war has now lasted almost half a year.

Now the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has honored several compatriots for their special merits.

Among others, football legend Andriy Shevchenko, who used his fame to help Ukraine, received the order "National Legend of Ukraine", Zelenskyy announced on Telegram on Monday night.

The honorees also include a train conductor who brought fleeing people from particularly hard-fought areas and whose wife was killed on one of the journeys.

News about the Ukraine war: Russian anti-aircraft defense again active over Crimea

According to the authorities, another attempted Ukrainian attack has been fended off over Crimea.

Russian anti-aircraft defenses hit "objects" approaching the Belbek airbase near Sevastopol, the city's chief administrator, Mikhail Rasvozhayev, wrote on Telegram.

In Crimea, which belongs to Ukraine under international law but was annexed by Russia, there have recently been repeated explosions, some of them serious, including in an ammunition depot.

Ukraine received this with satisfaction, but did not accept responsibility for the detonations.

News about the Ukraine war: Russian attacks in the east and south of Ukraine repelled

According to Ukraine, it has fended off several Russian attacks in the east and south of the country.

For example, Russian advances in the eastern region of Donetsk in the direction of the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Avdiivka were repulsed, the Ukrainian general staff said on Sunday evening.

The information could not be independently verified.

From Kyiv it was also said that from Monday (August 22) Russia wanted to close the airspace for a few days in parts of the Voronezh and Belgorod regions bordering Ukraine and in some areas of the Lipetsk region a little further inland.

There was no confirmation of this from the Russian side.

News about the Ukraine war: shock in Moscow after the death of Dugin's daughter

Moscow is shocked by the alleged murder of Darja Dugina, daughter of right-wing nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin.

"Alexander Gelyevich, your tragedy has become the pain of millions," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Dugin on Telegram.

His daughter was considered an ardent supporter of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine has denied involvement in the incident.

News about the Ukraine war: Scholz, Baerbock and Lindner comment

On Monday (August 22), Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to speak to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal – among other things, about help for Ukraine.

Scholz is traveling in Canada for three days together with Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) defended German arms deliveries to support Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to negotiate the simplest of issues, such as international humanitarian law, and there is no response to attempts at mediation, criticized the Greens politician at the Federal Foreign Office at the federal government's open day in Berlin.

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has meanwhile announced that he wants to travel to Kyiv in late summer or autumn.

(tk with dpa)