The Ukrainian army reported on Saturday, August 20, attempted Russian offensives, particularly in the Donetsk region (Ukraine), near the towns of Bakhmout, Zaïtsevé and Kodema. “Fighting continues,” the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement. A Russian bombardment in southern Ukraine, in the Mykolayiv region, left 12 injured, according to prosecutors, while a new drone strike targeted the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol on the annexed Crimean peninsula. Franceinfo looks back at the highlights of Saturday 20th August on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine.
Russian bombardment near a nuclear power plant
According to Ukrainian authorities, 12 Ukrainians were injured in a Russian bomb attack on Saturday in Voznesensk, a town near a nuclear power plant in the south of the country.
“According to preliminary information, twelve people, including three children, were injured. Two children are in serious condition,” the prosecutor’s office said on Telegram after the attack in the Mykolaiv region.
The strike hit an apartment building and several houses in Voznesensk, where around 30,000 people live, the state rescue service said on Facebook, posting pictures of a burned-out building.
Targeting the General Staff of the Russian Black Sea Fleet
A new drone attack on Saturday targeted the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol without causing injuries, the governor of that city on the annexed Crimea peninsula, Mikhail Razvojayev, announced. “The drone was shot down just above the fleet headquarters, it fell on the roof and caught fire,” he wrote on Telegram.
The incident “did not cause any serious damage” or injuries, the same source said, blaming Ukrainian forces for the attack.
This is the second drone attack in less than a month on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. On July 31, a drone landed in the courtyard of the Fleet Headquarters, injuring five of its employees and causing the cancellation of celebrations scheduled for that day to mark Russian Fleet Day. This attack comes amid a surge in explosions and attacks on Russian military infrastructure in Crimea.
A call to remove “barriers” to the export of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products
Russian fertilizers and agricultural products must be able to enter world markets “unhindered” at the risk of a global food crisis looming as early as next year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday.
“It is important that governments and the private sector work together to bring them to market,” he urged in Istanbul, Turkey, from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), which oversees the application of the agreement signed in July on exports of Ukrainian grain of Kyiv and Moscow under the aegis of the United Nations and Turkey. This agreement also guarantees that Russia can export its agricultural products and fertilizers despite Western sanctions.
The UN secretary-general said that exports of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products still face “hurdles”. “Without fertilizer in 2022, there may not be enough food in 2023,” he warned. “Getting more food and fertilizer out of Ukraine and Russia is key to calming markets… and driving consumer prices down.”