Moscow has accused Kyiv of striking a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region, sparking a fire that was quickly extinguished. The attack damaged a transformer, but radiation levels remained within normal ranges. However, the incident occurred on Ukraine’s 34th Independence Day, as the country celebrated its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the occasion with a prayer at church confessions, accompanied by his wife and Ukrainian officials. Russia also claimed that it intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Sunday, while Ukraine said it had fired 72 drones and decoys, along with a cruise missile.
In related developments, Norway pledged significant new military aid to Ukraine, promising about $695 million for air defense systems. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Kyiv on Sunday morning, meeting with Zelenskyy to discuss military assistance and the potential deployment of Canadian forces in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia continued its push in eastern and northern Ukraine, where it claimed to have seized two villages in the Donetsk region. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that two villages had been taken back by Ukrainian forces earlier that day.
The exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia also marked Independence Day, with 146 Russian servicemen returned for eight residents from the Kursk region who were held in Ukraine since August 2024. Zelenskyy described the returns as a “victory” for his people, but did not confirm the number of prisoners involved.
The incidents come amid ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, with both sides accusing each other of military aggression.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-independence-nuclear-164e25c537bf1054bbd426764b6e3bd3