Russia confirms Independence Day attack, Kyiv says it killed 25 civilians According to Reuters

By Tom Balmforth and Natalia Zinets

KYIV (Reuters) – Russia’s Defense Ministry on Thursday said its forces had attacked a railway station in eastern Ukraine, confirming an attack that Kyiv said also hit a residential area and killed 25 civilians died as the country marked Independence Day.

During its daily briefing, the ministry said an Iskander missile hit a military train on Wednesday at Chaplyne station, which is set to deliver weapons to Ukrainian forces on the frontline in the region. eastern Donbas region.

Ukraine’s presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko said 21 people were killed when the attack hit the station and set five train cars on fire, while a boy was killed when a rocket hit his house in the vicinity. . The death toll rose to 25 on Thursday after three other bodies were found from the rubble, he said.

The Russian ministry said about 200 Ukrainian servicemen were killed in the attack.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.

The Chaplyne assault and shelling of frontline towns, including Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Nikopol and Dnipro, followed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s warning of Russian provocations ahead of the 31st anniversary of Ukraine’s anniversary. declared independence from Soviet rule dominated by Moscow.

August 24 also marks six months since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, beginning Europe’s most devastating conflict since World War Two.

Fighting in the area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, in eastern Ukraine has emerged as a major source of concern in recent weeks, with trade accusations by Moscow and Kyiv threatening to cause disaster. disaster by shelling the factory.

VISIT THE NUCLEAR FACTORY

The United Nations has called for the area to be demilitarized and its nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is seeking access.

On Thursday, its chief Rafael Grossi told a French television station that the agency was “very, very close” to getting to the plant, which was captured by Russian forces in March but is still run by Ukrainian technicians. .

The safety system at the Zaporizhzhia plant was activated on Thursday, RIA Novosti news agency reported, following reports of power cuts in many Russian-controlled territories.

As rescue operations unfolded in Chaplyne, residents of the small town, located about 145 kilometers (90 miles) west of Russian-occupied Donetsk, grieve for their loved ones amid the ruins of the Russian-occupied Donetsk. their ruined houses.

Local resident Sergiy lost his 11-year-old son in the strike. “We looked for him there in the rubble, and he’s lying here. Nobody knows he’s here. Nobody knows,” he said as he crouched beside his naked body. his own body.

Russia denies targeting civilians. It also says that railway infrastructure is a legitimate target as it serves to supply Western weapons to Ukraine.

After Zelenskiy told the UN Security Council about the attack in a video message, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter (NYSE:): “Russian missile attack on a train station full of civilians in Ukraine is a form of brutality.”

During the daily briefing, Moscow also said it had destroyed eight Ukrainian warplanes in airstrikes on air bases in Ukraine’s Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions. That would be one of the heaviest losses to the Ukrainian air force in recent weeks.

The Ukrainian regional authorities said Russian missile strikes were in the Khmelnytskyi region, west of Kyiv and hundreds of kilometers from the front line. No damage or casualties were reported.

MILITARY NEEDED

As Russia’s ground campaign has stalled in recent months after its troops were pushed back from Kyiv in the early weeks of the war, the country has stepped up its devastating air attacks.

On Thursday, Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, told state television that eight Russian X-22 missiles hit Ukrainian territory on Wednesday, stressing that Kyiv needs more assistance. help to fortify his defense system.

“High-speed missiles are launched from aerial platforms and at such speeds, our air defenses are not capable of effectively countering these vehicles, that is,” said Ignat. why we need to strengthen our air defense capabilities.”

Kyiv has repeatedly called for the purchase of more advanced Western military equipment, which they say is necessary to repel the Russian attack.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced nearly $3 billion in weapons and equipment for Ukraine, bringing his administration’s total military aid pledge to more than $13.5 billion.

Public broadcaster Suspilne TV reported that in the southern Kherson region, which has seen some of the heaviest fighting in recent weeks, public broadcaster Suspilne TV reported, citing sources. According to local reports, explosions near the Antonivsky Bridge over the Dnipro River, a major supply route for Russian troops in the region.

Ukraine’s southern military command also reported missile attacks on the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River, another key Russian supply route in the region.

Reuters could not verify those battlefield accounts.

In a move that could support Western estimates of Russia’s heavy losses in the war, President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree increasing the size of the country’s armed forces from 1.9 million. to 2.04 million people.

At a session of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia reiterated that Moscow’s aim is to “demilitarize and demilitarize” Ukraine to eliminate security threats. clear” for Russia.

Russia’s position has been rejected by Ukraine and the West as an unfounded pretext for a war of aggression that has left thousands of civilians dead, displaced millions, ruined cities, and shaken. shifting the global economy, creating shortages of staple food and sending energy prices soaring.