Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine braces for Russian attacks as it marks independence day – live news

The UN has said it is “very concerned” about plans by Russian-backed authorities to hold trials for captured Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol.

Pro-Russian officials appear to be installing metal cages in a hall in Mariupol as part of plans to establish what they were calling an “international tribunal”, a UN rights office spokesperson said, adding that such a process could itself amount to a war crime.

Michelle Bachelet, UN high commissioner for human rights, cited reports that Russia and its separatist allies in eastern Ukraine are planning to put Ukrainian POWs on trial, possibly in the coming days.

The US is set to announce a fresh security assistance package for Ukraine of about $3bn (£2.5bn), officials have said, to coincide with Ukraine’s independence day and to equip the country for a war of attrition fought primarily in eastern and southern Ukraine.

US security assistance is shifting to a longer-term campaign that will likely keep more American military troops in Europe into the future and aid to train and equip Ukrainian forces to fight for years to come.

US officials told The Associated Press that the package is expected to be announced on Wednesday. The money will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones, and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two, they said.

The total of the aid package — which is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and is the largest to date— could change a bit overnight, but not likely by much. Officials said that it will include money for the small, hand-launched Puma drones, the longer-endurance Scan Eagle surveillance drones, which are launched by catapult, and, for the first time, the British Vampire drone system, which can be launched off ships.

Unlike most previous packages, the new funding is largely aimed at helping Ukraine secure its medium- to long-term defence posture, according to the officials familiar with the matter. Earlier shipments, most of them done under Presidential Drawdown Authority, have focused on Ukraine’s more immediate needs for weapons and ammunition and involved materiel that the Pentagon already has in stock that can be shipped in short order.

The UN nuclear watchdog will visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine “within the next few days if ongoing negotiations succeed”, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) renewed its request on Tuesday to assess the safety and security at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine which Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling, sparking warnings of a possible nuclear catastrophe.

In a statement, IAEA director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said:

Ukraine informed the IAEA that the shelling on Saturday (20 August) and Sunday (21 August) damaged ZNPP infrastructure including laboratory and chemical facilities, the Director General said.

In addition, Ukraine said shelling on Monday (22 August) damaged the transformers of the nearby thermal power plant, causing a disconnection of the power line linking this plant to the ZNPP lasting several hours before it was restored later the same day.

These incidents show why the IAEA must be able to send a mission to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant very soon.

… The mission is expected to take place within the next few days if ongoing negotiations succeed.”

Zelenskiy has vowed to return Crimea to Ukraine, saying that it would become part of the EU, along with the rest of the country.

We will return Crimea, because it is our territory. In any way we decide. We will decide it on our own, without consulting any other state …

It all began with Crimea, and it will end with Crimea.”

Ukraine is also not ready for negotiations with Russia regarding a ceasefire, Zelenskiy said.

At the point where we are, we are not ready for a ceasefire. We explained that there will be no Minsk-3, Minsk-5, or Minsk-7. We will not play these games, we have lost part of our territories this way … it is a trap,” he said during a press conference following a summit of the Crimea Platform in Kyiv.

Ukraine is bracing for possible brutal strikes as it marks 31 years since the country broke free from the Soviet Union and six months of war with Russia.

Speaking during a national address on Tuesday night, Zelenskiy said:

Tomorrow is an important day for all of us. And that is why this day, unfortunately, is also important for our enemy. We must be aware that tomorrow hideous Russian provocations and brutal strikes are possible.”

Authorities have banned mass gatherings in Kyiv as western and Ukrainian officials warn that Russia is preparing to once again attack the capital.

The US on Tuesday said it believed Russia would target civilian and government infrastructure in the next few days. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he had information from Ukraine’s intelligence services and international partners that there was an increased threat. Ukraine’s defence ministry has advised Ukrainians to be especially careful on independence day, citing the threat of missile attacks and “provocations” from Russia.

Andriy Yusov, the head of the ministry’s intelligence directorate, said on Ukrainian state TV:

Russia and the Putin regime attacked the independence of Ukraine and independent Ukraine. They are really obsessed with dates and symbols, so it would be logical to be on the lookout and be prepared for independence day to be attacked.”

Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

I’m Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments for the next short while. Whether you’ve been following our coverage overnight or you’ve just dropped in, here are the latest lines.

It is 5am in Kyiv. Here is where we stand:

Ukraine is bracing for possible brutal strikes as it marks 31 years since the country broke free from the Soviet Union. Authorities have banned mass gatherings in Kyiv as western and Ukrainian officials warn that Russia is preparing to once again attack the capital.

Russia and the Putin regime “are really obsessed with dates and symbols, so it would be logical to be on the lookout and be prepared for independence day to be attacked”, Andriy Yusov, the head of the ministry’s intelligence directorate, said.

• Ukraine is bracing for possible brutal strikes as it marks its independence day and 31 years since the end of Soviet rule. Authorities have cancelled celebrations in Kyiv as officials warn that Russia is preparing to attack the capital. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he had information from Ukraine’s intelligence services and international partners that there was an increased threat as the US said it believed Russia would target civilian and government infrastructure in the next few days. Ukraine’s defence ministry advised Ukrainians to be especially careful, citing the threat of missile attacks and “provocations” from Russia.

• Many civilians are attempting to leave Kyiv amid fears of a Russian attack, according to an adviser to Ukraine’s president. Alex Rodnyansky said people were worried and that there was “certainly some concern” that an attack may strike the centres of decision-making in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday. Russia and the Putin regime “are really obsessed with dates and symbols, so it would be logical to be on the lookout and be prepared for independence day to be attacked”, Andriy Yusov, the head of the ministry’s intelligence directorate, said.

• Zelenskiy has warned Russia of a strong response to any possible independence day attacks. Ukrainian intelligence is working with foreign intelligence, he said in a news conference on Tuesday, warning that Russia “will receive a response, a powerful response”. Zelenskiy also said Ukraine will not agree to any proposal to freeze the current frontlines in its conflict with Russia in order to “calm” Moscow, which now controls about 22% of Ukraine including Crimea.

• Zelenskiy also vowed to return Crimea to Ukraine, saying that it would become part of the EU, along with the rest of the country. “We will return Crimea, because it is our territory. In any way we decide. We will decide it on our own, without consulting any other state,” he said. “It all began with Crimea, and it will end with Crimea.”

• Ukraine is not ready for negotiations with Russia regarding a ceasefire, Zelenskiy said. “At the point where we are, we are not ready for a ceasefire. We explained that there will be no Minsk-3, Minsk-5, or Minsk-7. We will not play these games, we have lost part of our territories this way … it is a trap,” he said during a press conference following a summit of the Crimea Platform in Kyiv.

• The US is set to announce a fresh security assistance package for Ukraine of about $3bn (£2.5bn), officials have said, to equip the country for a war of attrition and secure its medium- to long-term defence posture. The money will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones, and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two, US officials told the Associated Press.

• Ukraine has accused Russia of having organised illegal mass adoptions of Ukrainian children after transferring them from occupied territories to the Russia mainland. “More than 1,000 children from Mariupol,” a southern Ukrainian city occupied by Russian troops, “were illegally transferred to outsiders in Tyumen, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and Altai Krai” in Siberia, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

• The UN has said it is “very concerned” about plans by Russian-backed authorities to hold trials for captured Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol. Pro-Russian officials appear to be installing metal cages in a hall in Mariupol as part of plans to establish what they were calling an “international tribunal”, a UN rights office spokesperson said, adding that such a process could itself amount to a war crime.

• Hundreds of people gathered in Moscow for the funeral of Darya Dugina, the daughter of one of Russia’s most prominent nationalist ideologues. Dugina, daughter of ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin, was murdered on Saturday in a car bomb attack outside Moscow. Russia’s FSB security service has accused Ukrainian intelligence agencies of ordering her killing, which Kyiv denies.

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