KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Moscow on Tuesday August 23 of a strong response if Russian forces carried out attacks on or around Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Zelenskyy has warned that Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, could attempt ‘something particularly ugly’ ahead of Wednesday’s Independence Day, which marks Ukraine’s break with the regime Soviet.
Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, this week banned public celebrations commemorating independence from the Soviet regime, citing an increased threat of Russian attack.
Kyiv is far from the front lines and has rarely been hit by Russian missiles since Ukrainian troops repelled a Russian ground offensive to seize the capital in March.
But authorities in Kyiv have banned public events related to the anniversary from Monday to Thursday due to the possibility of further rocket attacks, according to a document.
Asked at a press conference with visiting Polish President Andrzej Duda about the possibility of a Russian missile strike on Kyiv, Zelenskyy said there was a daily threat of attacks and that Ukrainian intelligence were working with foreign intelligence.
“Russia does this all the time. Can they increase the number of these strikes? Yes, they can do this on 23 and 24 (August),” Zelenskyy said.
“What will Ukraine do if it hits Kyiv? The same as now. Because for me as president, and for every Ukrainian, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Donbass is the same thing. Ukrainians live there . (And) Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia.”
He said the response would be the same for any Ukrainian city attacked by Russia.
“(If they hit us, they’ll get a response, a powerful response,” Zelenskyy said. “I mean every day…that response will grow, it will get stronger and stronger.”
Fears of an escalation in the attacks grew after Russia’s Federal Security Service on Monday accused Ukrainian agents of killing Darya Dugina, daughter of a Russian ultra-nationalist ideologue, in a car bomb attack near Moscow, which President Vladimir Putin called “diabolical”. Ukraine denies any involvement.
The two sides have traded blame over frequent bombings of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where Kyiv accuses Moscow of basing troops and stockpiling military equipment. Russia denies this and accuses Ukraine of targeting Zaporizhzhia with drones.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, citing its monitoring mission in Ukraine, said on Monday that 5,587 civilians had been killed and 7,890 injured between February 24 and August 21, mainly as a result of artillery, rocket and missile attacks.
UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, said at least 972 children have been killed or injured in the six-month war.