Ukraine says Russian rockets hit a Ukrainian train station on a day six months after Moscow began its invasion, killing 22 people.
Ukraine also said five victims were burned to death in a vehicle and an 11-year-old boy was also killed in an attack by Russian troops in the eastern town of Chaplyne.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned the latest attack from the enemy country during a UN Security Council meeting. He said about 50 people were injured.
Russia has so far made no comment. Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilian infrastructure.
Zelensky said he learned of the attack on the town of Chaplain in the Dnipropetrovsk region as he was preparing to address the Security Council. He added: “This is what Russia is preparing for the UN Security Council meeting.”
“There are now four passenger carriages on fire … the death toll is likely to increase,” he said.
In April, an attack on another railway station in Moscow killed more than 50 people.
ukraine independence day
Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day on Wednesday (August 24). Zelensky has previously said Russia could resort to some “brutal” attacks to disrupt activities.
He also previously slammed Moscow’s military for turning the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant into a “war zone”, endangering the plant and European residents and putting the world “on the brink of nuclear catastrophe”.
The UN secretary general told the same meeting that the “pointless war” could push millions into extreme poverty, whether in Ukraine or elsewhere.
Around the world, supporters gathered in the streets on both days to commemorate Ukraine’s independence. World leaders also came together to support the beleaguered country.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also made a sudden appearance in Kyiv to show Britain’s support for Ukraine. He also announced an updated military aid of 54 million pounds ($63.5 million), a figure that is significantly smaller than the additional $3 billion (£2.5 billion) announced by US President Joe Biden.
Support for Ukraine has come from all over the world, including Australia, Germany, Finland, Poland, Turkey, and more.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis called for “concrete measures” to end the war and avoid the risk of a nuclear disaster at Europe’s largest Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
On the streets of Kyiv, the situation was relatively calm.
Ukraine is now banning large gatherings and events across the country amid fears Russia could attack such civilian gatherings. Previously, the United States had warned its citizens to leave ahead of Remembrance Day.
Instead of the usual parade, some gathered on the streets of Kyiv to watch the array of captured Russian tanks and armored vehicles.
Between the political speeches, Zelensky and his wife attended a memorial service for soldiers and civilians who died in the war, laying yellow and blue flowers on Kyiv’s memory wall for fallen soldiers.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials provided the first update on military casualties. Officials say nearly 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the six-month war, a figure that could not be independently verified.
Despite the heavy losses, Ukrainian leaders started the day with a national address, vowing to retake the whole of Ukraine “without concessions or compromises.”
“We don’t know these (compromise) words, they were destroyed by missiles on February 24,” he said.
“The enemy thought we would greet them with flowers and champagne, but instead received funeral wreaths and Molotov cocktail gunpowder.”
Moscow arrests opposition leader
In Russia, the half-year commemoration of the invasion of Ukraine has passed quietly.
The BBC’s Moscow correspondent Will Vernon said there was little mention of Russia’s six-month “special military operation” on Moscow TV or by officials, a possible sign that Russian authorities did not want to highlight the protracted battle.
Russia initially promised a short, decisive campaign, but strong Ukrainian resistance soon drove Russian troops out of the capital. Months later, Russia redeployed forces, concentrating on breakaway eastern provinces it already had support for. But the front lines have barely moved in recent weeks.
A major event in Russia on Wednesday (August 24) was the arrest of Yevgeny Roizman, one of Russia’s last remaining major political opponents.
The former Yekaterinburg mayor was arrested on charges of “defaming the Russian army”. Such a charge could be punishable by up to five years in prison since the invasion of Ukraine.
When he was taken away, he said he was arrested for saying aloud, “(Russia) invaded Ukraine”.
Human rights lawyers say thousands of Russians have been brought to court on such charges, the vast majority of whom have been found guilty.
More than 16,000 Russians have been detained for protesting against the invasion of Ukraine, according to OVD-Info, an independent human rights watchdog in Russia, accused of protesting in the streets, posting on social media or simply referring to Russia’s “special military operation” called war or invasion.
Johnson visits Kyiv again
Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during a visit to Ukraine that entire European families must endure a cost of living crisis to counter Russian aggression.
Johnson visited Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, to mark its Independence Day.
Johnson said the West must “stay the course” on Ukraine despite the rising cost of living fueled by the war.
He added that despite the high energy bills, “the Ukrainian people are paying the price in blood for Russia’s wickedness”.
A close ally of Zelensky, Johnson is visiting Ukraine for the third time since Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago.
He said he believed Western solidarity on Ukraine was “increasing” despite reports that European support for Ukraine was waning as rising energy prices slammed the global economy.
In the UK, inflation is expected to hit a 42-year high of 13.3% this year. The country’s economy is expected to shrink for more than a year. The Bank of England said the high inflation and low growth were largely due to rising energy bills, fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
European countries have accused Russia, the world‘s leading energy supplier, of using natural gas as a weapon to limit supply in response to sanctions.
Johnson acknowledged that the West had paid a heavy price, including Britain, whose energy bills had risen sharply from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war of destruction”.
“We know that the coming winter will be tough and that Putin will manipulate Russia’s energy supply in an attempt to torture families across Europe,” Johnson added: “As friends of Ukraine, our first test will be to face and endure this pressure.”
During a visit to Kyiv, he vowed that Ukraine “can and will win this war” against a “savage illegal invader”.
The British Prime Minister also announced a further £54 million military aid package for Ukraine. This includes 2,000 drones and idle munitions, which Downing Street said will help Ukraine “better track and target invading Russian forces”.
Britain is one of the main donors of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russian targets for prosecution or war-related.
This could be Johnson’s last visit to Ukraine as British Prime Minister as he leaves office on September 6.
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BBC Politicsaffairsreporter Wells(Ione Wells)
Johnson mentioned how Putin has effectively used the energy crisis as an indirect weapon of war to “torture the average family”. Johnson’s message to the public that we have to “live with” this pressure is remarkable.
This sounds like an acknowledgment that we are vulnerable to this indirect “weapon of war” because we have not yet ensured the independence of our own energy supply by building homegrown supply chains. If we do this, we will be less vulnerable to international price shocks.
But he probably didn’t mean to say that, his words were a challenge to the prime minister’s successor.
Ahead of last week’s announcement of an energy price cap, would-be prime ministers are under pressure to help British households with their winter fuel bills. But they also had to show how they could quickly solve a fundamental problem: the inability of energy supplies to meet basic needs.