Kyiv has warned that Russia could be planning to ramp up its attacks to coincide with Ukrainian independence day.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin could try “something particularly ugly” around the national holiday, which coincides with the war’s six-month milestone on Wednesday.
The US also indicated that Russia is planning to scale up its aerial assaults this week, with its embassy in Kyiv telling American citizens to leave the Ukrainian capital if they can.
“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” it said on its website.
This comes as the UN secretary general told countries to stop “nuclear sabre-rattling”.
Speaking on Monday, Antonio Guterres said the world faced a "maximum moment of danger", adding that "humanity’s future is in our hands today”.
Recent shelling around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, which is currently in Russian-held territory, has raised fears of a potential catastrophe there. Both sides have accused the other of endangering the site’s safety.
