War in Ukraine New fire in Russian ammunition depot drone

War in Ukraine: New fire in Russian ammunition depot, drone shot down in Crimea

UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Le Figaro summarizes the latest information from journalists, official Ukrainian and Russian statements, Western sources and international organizations.

Russian ammunition depot on fire, situation still tense in Crimea, Ukrainian drone shot down in Sevastopol, meetings in Ukraine between Erdogan, Zelenskyy and Guterres, concerns about Zaporijya power plant… On the 177th day of the conflict, Le Figaro Punkt reports, this Tuesday, August 16, on the latest information from the war in Ukraine.

Russian ammunition depot on fire

Two Russian villages were evacuated on Thursday over a fire that broke out at a munitions depot near the border with Ukraine, local authorities said. “An ammunition depot caught fire near the village of Timonovo,” which is less than 50 km from the Ukrainian border in Belgorod province, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement.

“Near the village of Timonovo, an ammunition depot caught fire.” @STEELMALIKOV / AFP

No casualties were reported, but residents of Timonovo and the nearby village of Soloti were “taken to a safe distance,” he said, adding that authorities are investigating the reasons for the fire. A huge fireball could be seen in a video posted to social media, releasing a thick column of black smoke. In another, multiple explosions could be seen in quick succession in the distance.

The fire, which broke out on Thursday, came amid a burst of explosions affecting Russian military installations in Crimea, with Russia admitting the latest incident as an “act of sabotage”.

Ukrainian drone shot down in Crimea

The situation in Crimea also remains tense. Russian forces shot down a drone Thursday night near the airport of Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea and the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, according to local authorities. “According to preliminary data, a drone was shot down by air defense near Belbek airport. There is no harm,” Moscow-deputized Crimean Governor Mikhail Razvojayev told Telegram.

Shortly before that, Russian anti-aircraft defenses had been activated near the city of Kerch, also in Crimea, where there is a huge bridge connecting the peninsula to mainland Russia, built at great expense after annexation and a true symbol of Russification is the peninsula. “Air defense systems were activated in Kerch. There is no danger to the city or the bridge,” said a regional official, Oleg Krioutchkov, as quoted by Russian press agencies.

These systems aim to intercept and destroy projectiles or enemy aircraft that come within range.

Damage to the Zaporizhia power plant would be “a suicide‘ warns the UN

At a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lviv on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General warned that any damage to Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant would be “suicide”. “We have to say things as they are: any potential harm to Zaporijjia would be suicide,” said Antonio Guterres, again calling for the “demilitarization” of the plant occupied by the Russian army.

Antonio Guterres said he was “seriously concerned” about the situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and called for it “not to be used for any military operation”. Antonio Guterres continues his visit on Friday to Odessa, a Ukrainian port crucial for resuming grain exports blocked by the war.

Erdogan is alarmed about the danger of a ‘new Chernobyl’

For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s support for Ukraine and expressed alarm at the risk of a “new Chernobyl” in light of the world’s largest civilian nuclear accident. “While we continue our efforts to find a solution, we have been and continue to be with our Ukrainian friends,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, before adding that he did not want “a new Chernobyl”.

President Zelenskyy said Thursday that Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Lviv was a “strong message of support” for his country. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER / Portal

President Zelenskyy said on Thursday that the visit of his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Lviv was a “strong message of support” for his country. He ruled out any peace talks with Moscow without the prior withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. “People who kill, rape, hit with cruise missiles our civilian cities every day cannot want peace. You should leave our territory first, then we’ll see,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Lviv, saying “not to trust Russia.”

New equipment for grain ships

The meeting of Zelensky, Erdogan and Guterres comes amid mounting negotiations to allow grain exports to resume from Ukraine, one of the world’s top producers and exporters. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is mediating on this issue, traveled to Russia in early August to talk to President Vladimir Putin about it.

A first UN-chartered humanitarian ship loaded with 23,000 tons of wheat left Ukraine for Ethiopia on Tuesday. A ship loaded with grain sailed on Thursday, the 25th since the deal was signed, Ukrainian port authorities said. In total, since then, more than 600,000 tons of Ukrainian agricultural products have passed through the grain corridor from the ports of Odessa, Pivdenny and Chornomorsk.

Fighting continues in the northeast

Fighting also continues in the Kharkiv region (northeast), where Ukrainians have accused the Russians of bombing residential areas, killing six people and injuring dozens in all on Thursday after 13 the previous evening. “Last night and this morning were the most tragic moments in Kharkiv since the beginning of the war,” its mayor Igor Terekhov said on Thursday, signaling that Friday would be a day of mourning for the victims.

Located about forty kilometers from the Russian border, this city, the second largest in Ukraine, is regularly bombed by Russian soldiers who never managed to capture it. According to the authorities, hundreds of civilians were killed in this region. In the south, a strike in Mykolaiv killed one person and injured two others, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said.