Russia: Ukraine's General Staff said on Tuesday that Russia carried out artillery and air strikes in the Zaporizhzhya region, where fighting close to Europe's largest nuclear power plant raised fears of a catastrophic nuclear accident.

The attacks come days before Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day on Wednesday to mark its independence from Soviet rule. Kyiv has banned public gatherings in light of the threat of additional attacks.

Ukraine claimed that Russia attacked several cities in the Zaporizhzhya region, where Russian forces captured the nuclear power plant after attacking it with artillery fire and airstrikes on 24 February.

Due to artillery and rocket fire near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear reactor complex on the southern bank of the Dnipro River, the area has been asked to demilitarize.

Ukrainians living nearby expressed concern that one of the plant's six reactors could be hit by shells, which would be disastrous.

US issues warning about new Russian attacks on civilians

A US official, citing intelligence reports, said Russia is preparing to resume attacks on infrastructure and government buildings in Ukraine in the coming days. The official, who asked to remain anonymous, warned that a new round of attacks would put Ukrainian citizens at greater risk.

According to a statement published on the website of the US Embassy in Ukraine, the State Department advised US citizens to leave the country because of threats to their security.

According to a department spokesman who briefed reporters under the condition of anonymity, US officials met with Russian ambassador to the State Department Anatoly Antonov on August 18 and warned against escalation in Ukraine and demanded that Russia release Ukrainian nuclear power. Stop military operations near facilities.

While the US claimed that the focus of the meeting was specifically the status of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear facility, Antonov described it as being focused on visas for Russian diplomats attending the annual UN General Assembly in September.

Ban on gatherings before Independence Day

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday cautioned Moscow against trying "something particularly ugly" in the days leading up to the 31st anniversary of its independence, which also marked six months after its invasion.

Authorities in Kyiv decided to ban public celebrations of the independence anniversary from Monday to Thursday because of the potential for new rocket attacks. Since Ukraine repelled a ground attack to capture the capital in March, Russian missiles have occasionally hit the capital, which is far from the battlefield.

Putin calls Dugina's murder 'heinous'

The car bombing that killed Daria Dugina was a "dastardly, brutal crime", Putin said in a condolence message for his father, a far-right political theorist who has been a vocal supporter of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Putin's message posted on the Kremlin's Telegram channel comes after Russia's Federal Security Service accused Ukraine's special forces of planning the attack on Saturday. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the killing.

Russian state television officials on Tuesday planned a memorial ceremony at Moscow's main TV center for Dugina, who worked as a commentator on its channels, according to state-run TAS.

The United Nations has set up a fact-finding mission to investigate prisoner killings

The United Nations has appointed a team to investigate and find out the facts surrounding the missile attack on a Russian-held camp in the Ukrainian city of Olenivka last month, which resulted in the death of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed retired Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz of Brazil to lead the fact-finding mission, which also included Iceland's Ingiborg Solrán Gasladotir and Niger's Issoufou Yacoub.

While Ukraine and Russia have claimed responsibility for the attack, European intelligence has rejected Moscow's claims that US-supplied ammunition was used to hit the facility after investigating damage captured in satellite images. it was done.

Ukraine claims nearly 9,000 soldiers killed

Ukraine's top military commander, Valery Zaluzny, told a televised Veterans Forum that some 9,000 soldiers were killed fighting the Russian invasion.

The death toll had risen since April, when Zelensky said Ukraine had lost 3,000 troops since the war began. On the same forum as Zaluzhnyi, the president said that about 1 million Ukrainians serve in the military and other security agencies.

Russia and Ukraine rarely make public statements about their own casualties, while they often cite the increased number of enemies killed and wounded.

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