Kyiv authorities have banned public events related to Ukraine’s independence anniversary from Monday until Thursday
KYIV, Aug 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ukraine’s capital Kyiv banned public celebrations this week commemorating independence from Soviet rule, citing a heightened threat of Russian attack in a war the United Nations said has killed nearly 5,600 civilians, including many children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Moscow could try “something particularly ugly” in the run-up to Wednesday’s 31st independence anniversary, which also marks half a year since Russia invaded.
Kyiv is far from the front lines and has only rarely been hit by Russian missiles since Ukrainian troops repelled a Russian ground offensive to seize the capital in March.
But Kyiv authorities have banned public events related to the anniversary from Monday until Thursday due to the possibility of renewed rocket attacks, a document showed.
Other jurisdictions also restricted public gatherings. In Kharkiv, a northeastern city that has come under frequent and deadly longer-range artillery and rocket fire, Mayor Ihor Terekhov announced an extension to an overnight curfew to run from 4pm to 7am effective from Tuesday to Thursday.
In the port of Mykolaiv near Russian-held territory to the south, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said authorities planned a precautionary order for residents to work from home on Tuesday and Wednesday and urged people not to gather in large groups.
Fears of intensified attacks rose 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 that President Vladimir Putin called “evil”. Ukraine denies involvement.
Moscow requested a UN Security Council meeting be held on Tuesday to discuss the Zaporizhzhia plant, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported, citing Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy.
Russia launched on Feb 24 what it calls a “special military operation” to demilitarise its smaller neighbour and protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and its Western backers accuse Moscow of waging an imperial-style war of conquest.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, citing its monitoring mission in Ukraine, said 5,587 civilians had been killed and 7,890 wounded between Feb 24 and Aug 21, mainly from artillery, rocket and missile attacks.
UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, said at least 972 children have been killed or injured over six months of war.
“The use of explosive weapons has caused most of the child casualties. These weapons do not discriminate between civilian and combatant, especially when used in populated areas as has been the case in Ukraine,” the agency’s executive director, Catherine Russell, said in a statement.
Separately, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi – Kyiv’s army chief – provided what appeared to be the first public Ukrainian military death toll, saying nearly 9,000 soldiers had died in action.
Russia has not said how many of its soldiers have been killed. Ukraine’s General Staff have estimated the Russian military death toll at 45,400. — NNN-AGENCIES
