Zelensky warns of ‘ugly’ Russian attack

President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukrainians to be vigilant ahead of Wednesdayrsquos celebrations to mark 31 years of independence from Soviet rule as fresh blasts hit Crimea and a missile wounded 12 civilians near a nuclear power plantUkrainians must not allow Moscow to ldquospread despondency and fearrdquo ahead of the Aug 24 events which also come six months after Russia began its fullscale invasion of Ukraine Zelensky said on SaturdayldquoWe must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something particularly ugly something particularly viciousrdquo Zelensky said in nightly remarks on videoCurfew in Ukrainersquos secondlargest city Kharkiv is to be extended for the entire day on Wednesday said regional Governor Oleh Synehub The curfew usually runs from 10 pm to 6 am in the northeastern city regularly hit by Russian shelling ldquoRemain at home and take heed of warningsrdquo Synehub wrote to residents on the Telegram messaging appNew blasts resounded in the Russianannexed Crimea peninsula on Saturday and a Russian missile hit a residential area of a southern Ukrainian town not far from a nuclear power station wounding 12 civilians Russian and Ukrainian officials said That strike at the Pivdennoukrainsk South Ukraine nuclear station and fresh shelling near the Zaporizhzhia station Europersquos largest such facility prompted new fears of a nuclear accident during the war Ukrainian officials said The Russianappointed governor not recognised by the West said a drone had struck a building near the headquarters of Russiarsquos Black Sea Fleet on Saturday morningRussia has deployed hypersonic Kinzhal Dagger missiles three times over the course of what Moscow calls a ldquospecial military operationrdquo in Ukraine Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Sunday The Kinzhal missiles are part of new hypersonic weapons President Vladimir Putin presented in 2018 in a bellicose speech in which he said they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a USbuilt missile shieldDaughter of lsquoPutinrsquos brainrsquo killedInvestigators at the site of explosion of a car driven by Daria Dugina PicAPThe daughter of a Russian nationalist ideologist who is often referred to as lsquoPutinrsquos brainrsquo was killed when her car exploded on the outskirts of Moscow officials said SundayThe Investigative Committee branch for the Moscow region said the Saturday night blast was caused by a bomb planted in the SUV driven by Daria DuginaThe 29yearold was the daughter of Alexander Dugin a prominent proponent of the lsquoRussian worldrsquo concept ideology and a vehement supporter of Russiarsquos sending of troops into UkraineDugina expressed similar views and had appeared as a commentator on the nationalist TV channel Tsargrad The explosion took place as Dugina was returning from a cultural festival she had attended with her father Some Russian media reports cited witnesses as saying the vehicle belonged to her father and that he had decided at the last minute to travel in another carThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever