18/8/2024–|Last update: 8/18/202410:12 AM (Makkah Time)
I announced UkraineToday, a Russian air attack on the capital was thwarted. KyivThe day after it appealed to its Western allies to allow long-range strikes on Russiawhich spoke of Ukrainian preparations to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant.
The military administration in Kiev said it had thwarted an attack targeting the capital, launched by Russia on Sunday morning using ballistic missiles, without indicating any casualties or damage.
Ukrainian authorities believed that these weapons were “North Korean KN-23 missiles,” saying that the missiles were intercepted as they approached the capital, preventing them from reaching their targets.
Kiev authorities indicated that “simultaneously with the missile attack, Moscow launched drones towards the city, which were destroyed by air defenses outside the capital. No damage was recorded in Kiev, and no information was received regarding casualties.”
Kyiv, the surrounding region and most of central and north-eastern Ukraine are under air raid alerts at around 0200 GMT.
Zelensky urges allies
The Russian raids that Kiev spoke about came after the Ukrainian president’s call. Volodymyr Zelensky The West has once again called for urgent provision of long-range weapons, after its forces advanced in the Russian Kursk region.
In his evening video message, Zelensky considered, yesterday, Saturday, that “the ability of the Ukrainian armed forces to use such weapons against Russia is the most important strategic issue in this war.”
“At the moment, there is a lack of necessary decisions from Western allies,” he said, citing the example of the United Kingdom, which he claimed had become slower to act.
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“The courage and resilience of Ukrainian soldiers currently compensates for the hesitation of Western partners,” Zelensky said. “We can effectively take away any opportunity for the occupier to advance and cause damage if our long-range capabilities are sufficient.”
“The world has seen how effectively Ukraine is defending its independence, and that it needs more help,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky again referred to a conversation with the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi, who informed him of further advances in the Russian Kursk region. “The operation is unfolding exactly as we expected. The courage of the Ukrainians is achieving great things. Now we are strengthening our positions,” he added.
According to the latest information from Kiev, Ukraine controls more than 80 villages and 1,500 square kilometers of area in the Kursk region.
Nuclear warnings
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed last night that “the Kiev regime has begun preparing to carry out a terrorist attack targeting the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant,” warning of “a catastrophe facing Europe if the attack is carried out.”
“According to the information received, the Kiev regime has begun preparing an attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant, and the entire international community must understand the danger that the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev poses to the European continent,” the ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“Attempts to intimidate and terrorize entire regions and the international community as a whole must be resolutely stopped through joint efforts,” the Russian diplomat added. “We call on international organizations, especially the UN and the IAEA, to immediately condemn the provocative actions being prepared by the Kiev regime and to prevent the violation of the nuclear safety of the Kursk plant, which could lead to a large-scale catastrophe in Europe.”
The Kharkiv region military administration announced on Friday that Ukrainian forces were planning to use warheads containing radioactive materials to attack the Kursk and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants.
The coordinator of the pro-Russian underground groups in the Nikolaev region, Sergei Lebedev, said that the attack on the Kursk and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants planned by Kiev is under the supervision of Western intelligence services, especially Britain.
Zaporizhia station
For its part, the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency warned yesterday that the safety situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was “deteriorating” after a drone strike.
The agency said in a statement that its experts on the site were informed of the explosion that occurred near key facilities at the station on Saturday, and immediately visited the site. They reported that the damage “appears to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload,” which affected the road between the two main gates of the facility.
“Once again, we are witnessing an escalation of risks to nuclear safety and security at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in the statement. “I remain deeply concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all parties.” The statement said the “nuclear safety situation” at the plant was “deteriorating.”
He noted that the agency’s team at the site reported “intense” military activity over the past week in the area, including near the station. The team heard explosions and repeated fire from heavy machine guns, rifles and artillery at various distances from the facility.
Earlier yesterday, Russia accused Ukraine of dropping an explosive device on a road near the occupied facility in southern Ukraine. The facility, which is under Russian control, has been subjected to repeated attacks, with both sides accusing each other of carrying out the attacks.
Last Sunday, Kiev and Moscow traded accusations of responsibility for a fire that broke out in a cooling system at the Zaporizhia plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which the Russians have occupied since March 2022. The plant is located in Energodar on the banks of the Dnieper River, which is a natural contact line between the two sides of the war.
