&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Ukraine is not a victim; it is a fighter': Ukrainian drone strike hits Russian nuclear plant, oil terminal as Kyiv marks Independence Day")
Russia said Ukraine launched a wave of drone strikes on Sunday (August 24), hitting targets across several regions. One drone detonated close to the Kursk nuclear power plant, just 60 km from the Ukrainian border, damaging an auxiliary transformer. This forced reactor No. 3 to run at half its normal capacity. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was aware of the incident and stressed that “every nuclear facility must be protected at all times”. The UN agency has repeatedly urged both Moscow and Kyiv to avoid fighting near nuclear plants.
Massive blaze at Russian fuel terminal
Russian officials also confirmed a huge fire broke out at the Ust-Luga fuel export terminal after another drone strike. The site is one of Russia’s biggest energy hubs. Moscow’s defence ministry claimed at least 95 drones were intercepted across more than a dozen regions on 24 August, the same day Ukraine marked its independence from the Soviet Union. Kyiv has not publicly commented on the strikes.
Watch | Russia-Ukraine War | Russia: Intercepted 95 Ukrainian Drones Overnight
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Zelensky vows to keep fighting
In a video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would not stop defending its independence. “We need a just peace, a peace where our future will be decided only by us,” he said. “When Russia wants to take Sumy region, then our armed forces appear in Kursk region. When the enemy strikes our energy system, wanting to leave us without light and heat, then its oil refineries burn,” he said, adding, “Ukraine has not yet won, but it has certainly not lost. Ukraine is not a victim; it is a fighter.”
World leaders mark Ukraine’s independence
Visits from foreign allies marked Ukraine’s Independence Day. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Kyiv to meet Zelensky, while US envoy Keith Kellogg also attended the celebrations. King Charles sent a letter to Ukrainians with his “warmest and most sincere wishes”, praising their “unbreakable spirit”. Zelensky said the King’s words were “a true inspiration” during wartime.
Russia claims fresh gains in Donetsk
Meanwhile, Moscow said its troops had captured two villages in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Russian forces have been making slow and costly advances and now hold around 20% of Ukrainian territory. The full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, remains the deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
