Russian attack kills 22 on Ukraine’s Independence Day; US pledges nearly $3B in new military aid. Live updates
Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations were disrupted Wednesday after a Russian rocket strike on a railroad station killed 22 people, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had warned the Kremlin may attempt “something particularly cruel” on the holiday.
The attack took place in Chaplyne, a town of about 3,500 people in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Ukrainian news agencies. Zelenskyy initially said about 50 people were wounded but his office later reduced the number to 22. Five passenger rail cars were hit.
The assault came four days after a car-bomb blast outside Moscow killed a hardline commentator who was the daughter of a Russian ultranationalist, prompting calls for revenge. Ukraine denied involvement in the bombing.
Besides being the 31st anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, Wednesday also marked six months since the war began. Kyiv officials had banned large public gatherings this week and told government employees to work from home in anticipation of a Russian missile strike amid the elevated tensions.
In addition, the U.S. issued a security alert citing “information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days.”
Earlier Wednesday, Zelenskyy delivered a fiery speech pledging to drive the occupiers out of his battered country as he stood among burned-out Russian tanks in downtown Kyiv.
“Donbas is Ukraine. And we will return it, whatever the path may be. Crimea is Ukraine. And we will return it. Whatever the path may be,” Zelenskyy said, referring to regions that have been taken over partially or entirely by the Russians. “You don’t want your soldiers to die? Free our lands. You don’t want your mothers to cry? Free our lands. These are our simple and clear terms.”
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Other developments:
►Zelenskyy, speaking at the United Nations, called for the International Atomic Energy Agency to take “permanent control” of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, now occupied by Russia. “Russia has put the world on the brink of radiation catastrophe,” he said.
►Yevgeny Roizman, the former mayor of Yekaterinburg – Russia’s fourth-largest city –was arrested Wednesday on charges of discrediting the country’s military, part of a crackdown on critics of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
USA TODAY examines the tragedies unfolding in Ukraine.
►Pope Francis marked the half-year anniversary of the invasion by decrying the “insanity” of war and lamenting that innocent civilians on both sides were paying a high price.
US commits nearly $3 billion in new military aid to Ukraine
A $2.98 billion aid package to Ukraine the Pentagon announced Wednesday includes surface-to-air missile systems, artillery ammunition and drones. Since January, the Biden administration has spent $13.5 billion on military aid to Ukraine.
The White House said the latest security assistance would allow Ukraine to continue defending itself over the long term.
“I know this Independence Day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians’ pride in themselves, in their country, and in their 31 years of independence.”
Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko called the grant “an important gift for our country.”