Ukrainian military authorities said on the 8th that Russia has attacked major cities in Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.
“Russia carried out 16 missile strikes last night, especially in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Mkolaiu and Odessa regions,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a daily situation report.
“Unfortunately, there have been civilian casualties and damage to high-rise buildings, private homes and other civilian infrastructure,” it said, adding that 61 airstrikes and 52 heavy rocket salvos were fired against Ukrainian forces and populated areas over the past day. I did.
It added that Russia had intercepted 35 Iranian-made Shahid drones that had been launched overnight at targets across the country.
Meanwhile, the Russian-appointed Zaporizhia regional official announced on the 7th that 1,679 residents near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, were evacuated to a temporary camp.
Earlier, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi warned on the 6th that the situation around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was a “potentially dangerous” situation.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on the 8th that he had submitted a bill to Congress to designate May 8 as World War II commemoration and May 9 as ‘Europe Day’.
Ukraine’s push to legislate designating May 8 as the World War II anniversary is interpreted as a move to differentiate itself from Russia.
Victory Day (День Победы·Den Pobedy·Victory Day), which is celebrated every year on May 9 in Russia, is a national holiday that coincides with the day of the former Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 during World War II.
In addition, the European edition of Politico, a political media outlet, commented that Ukraine’s intention to designate May 9 as ‘Europe Day’ is to move closer to the European Union (EU).
VOA News
* This article was sourced from Reuters.
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2023-05-08 09:00:00
