WAR IN UKRAINE: August 22, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 180
Good morning from Odesa, where four air raid sirens have been triggered since 0900 local time.
Ukraine is bracing itself for an intensification of Russian missile attacks to coincide with its independence day on Wednesday in the aftermath of the car-bomb killing of the daughter of an ultranationalist Russian ideologue. The country’s military warned that Russia had put five cruise missile-bearing warships and submarines out in the Black Sea and that Moscow was positioning air defence systems in Belarus. Large gatherings have been banned in Kyiv for four days from Monday - Guardian
Kyiv officials ban mass events in the Ukrainian capital, while the northern city of Kharkiv plans a curfew from Tuesday evening. It comes after Ukraine's President Zelensky warns Russia could do "something particularly ugly" ahead of independence celebrations - BBC
Meanwhile, artillery shells rained down overnight on Nikopol, a city lying across the Dnipro River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, cutting power to 3,000 residents and spurring fears of a nuclear accident.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns that any talks with Russia will be impossible if an "absolutely disgusting and absurd show trial" of captured Ukrainian soldiers goes ahead in the occupied Donbas
Darya Dugina, who died in an apparent car bomb assassination in Moscow this weekend, said in an interview in May that she was proud to be on a western sanctions list: “The fact that we are under sanctions by the US, Canada, Australia and the UK is also a symbol that we Dugin are on the path of truth in the fight against globalism. Therefore, I would say it is an honour to be born into such a family.” She also strongly defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and voiced sympathy towards autocratic regimes in Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and elsewhere.
Separately, Russian propaganda outlets such as Russia Today are citing experts who are pointing the blame for the Moscow car bomb at Ukraine (which denies any involvement). Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said Kyiv will pay heavily should any link be found. Another expert played down the status of Mr. Dugin, saying even state controlled TV outlets shunned him for being too radical
Russian entities and individuals are attempting to use Turkey to evade sanctions, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo tells Turkish Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitas in a call, according to a U.S. Treasury Department readout. They also discuss efforts to implement and enforce sanctions against Russia. Reuters reports the Turkish Finance Ministry said Elitas had stressed Turkey's deep economic and political relations with both Russia and Ukraine but also assured Adeyemo that Ankara would not allow any violation of the sanctions.
Ukrainian emergency services held a nuclear disaster drill in the country's Zaporizhzhya region on August 17 after repeated shelling at the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in early March, shortly after their invasion of the country began. Watch the RFE/RL video here
Required reading…
The Ukraine War Started 6 Months Ago. We Have 6 Takeaways
The world united in horror on Day One. Where are we now?
On Feb. 24, the world united in horror as Russian missiles rained down on Ukraine. The US, UK and European Union unleashed sweeping sanctions against the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin. People lucky enough to live in a country not currently being invaded were driven to help in any way they could, be it donations of essential items for refugees, charitable offerings or protests against the invasion.
This coming Tuesday marks six months since that terrible day. The initial blitzkrieg is over, giving way to a slower war of attrition in the south of Ukraine. Though the situation is no less dire, democratic governments may find it harder to convince their populaces of that as they struggle with soaring energy and food prices. Now’s a good time to take stock of the war’s toll, in six points based on our many columns from writers around the world.
Read the full Bloomberg Opinion piece here