The Ukrainian army reported attempted Russian offensives, particularly in the Donetsk region (Ukraine), on Saturday August 20, near the towns of Bakhmout, Zaïtsevé and Kodema. “The fighting continues”, said the staff of the Ukrainian armed forces in a press release. A Russian bombardment in the south of Ukraine, in the Mykolaiv region, left twelve injured according to the prosecution, while a new drone attack targeted the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, in the annexed Crimean peninsula. Franceinfo looks back on the highlights of Saturday August 20 on the front of the war in Ukraine.
Russian bombardment near a nuclear power plant
According to the Ukrainian authorities, twelve Ukrainians were injured on Saturday in a Russian bombardment in Voznesensk, a city located not far from 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” after this attack in the Mykolaiv region, the prosecution announced on Telegram.
The strike hit a residential building and several houses in Voznesensk, where around 30,000 people live, the state emergency service said on Facebook, posting images of a gutted building.
The General Staff of the Russian Black Sea Fleet targeted
A new drone attack on Saturday targeted the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, without causing injuries, announced the governor of this city of the annexed peninsula of Crimea, Mikhail Razvojayev. “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 do serious damage”nor wounded, specified this same source, rejecting the responsibility for the attack on the Ukrainian forces.
This is, in less than a month, the second drone attack against the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet 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 festivities planned for that day, on the occasion of the Day of the Russian Fleet. This attack comes amid an increase in explosions and attacks targeting 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 access world markets “without hindrance”at the risk of a world food crisis next year, launched on Saturday the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres.
“It is important that governments and the private sector work together to get them to market”, he pleaded in Istanbul (Turkey) from the Joint Coordination Center (CCC), which oversees the application of the agreement on the export of Ukrainian cereals signed in July by kyiv and Moscow, under the aegis of the UN and Turkey. This agreement also guarantees that Russia can export its agricultural products and fertilizers despite Western sanctions.
The UN Secretary General said that despite this, exports of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products still face challenges. “obstacles”. “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 lowering prices for consumers.”