Ukraine parliament cancels session over threat of Russian attack
The apparent heightened risk comes days after the embassies of several countries, said they were closed, citing the threat of a Russian attack
Published: 05:11 PM,Nov 22,2024 | EDITED : 09:11 PM,Nov 22,2024
A woman stands on a snow-covered street during a snowfall in Kyiv. — Reuters
Kyiv shuttered parliament on Friday for one day, citing a potential Russian missile attack after President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the West by launching a new intermediate-range missile at Ukraine.
Moscow's 33-month attack on Ukraine escalated this week with Russia's first launch of a nuclear-capable mid-range ballistic missile at the city of Dnipro on Thursday.
The Kremlin said on Friday that a hawkish address by Putin, in which he threatened to strike the West and said he was 'ready for any scenario,' had been 'understood' in the United States.
Putin had said Moscow reserved the right to strike countries that allow Kyiv to hit Russian territory with their weapons, after the US and the UK gave the green light for Kyiv to do so.
Nato and Ukrainian officials are due to meet on Tuesday in Brussels to discuss the escalation, diplomatic sources said.
In Kyiv, which is frequently targeted by Russian drones and missiles, parliament cancelled its usual Friday questions to the government over fears of a strike.
The central area where it is located houses the presidency, the central bank and other government buildings. It has until now been spared of bombings — unlike the rest of the capital — and access is strictly controlled by the army.
Several MPs said they were working remotely and that Friday's session had been scrapped.
'There are signals of an increased risk of attacks on the government district in the coming days. Also in Kyiv and Ukraine in general,' MP Yevgenia Kravchuk said.
The presidency, however, assured its office was working 'as usual in compliance with standard security measures: if the alarm sounds, we will be in shelters.'
The apparent heightened risk comes two days after the embassies of several countries, including the US, said they were closed, citing the threat of a Russian attack.
In Moscow meanwhile, Russian defence minister Andrei Belousov said Moscow's advances in the war-battered eastern Ukraine had 'accelerated' and also 'ground down' Kyiv's best units.
'We have, in fact, derailed the entire 2025 campaign,' Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said of the Ukrainian army in a video published by the Russian defence ministry.
Russia later said its forces had 'liberated' the frontline village of Novodmytrivka, about 10 kilometres north of Kurakhove, an embattled civilian hub in the eastern Donetsk region that the Kremlin claims is part of Russia.
Observers of the conflict say Moscow and Kyiv racing to gain battlefield advantages ahead of January 2025, when Donald Trump — who has vowed to end the war without saying how — is due to take office in the US. — AFP
Moscow's 33-month attack on Ukraine escalated this week with Russia's first launch of a nuclear-capable mid-range ballistic missile at the city of Dnipro on Thursday.
The Kremlin said on Friday that a hawkish address by Putin, in which he threatened to strike the West and said he was 'ready for any scenario,' had been 'understood' in the United States.
Putin had said Moscow reserved the right to strike countries that allow Kyiv to hit Russian territory with their weapons, after the US and the UK gave the green light for Kyiv to do so.
Nato and Ukrainian officials are due to meet on Tuesday in Brussels to discuss the escalation, diplomatic sources said.
In Kyiv, which is frequently targeted by Russian drones and missiles, parliament cancelled its usual Friday questions to the government over fears of a strike.
The central area where it is located houses the presidency, the central bank and other government buildings. It has until now been spared of bombings — unlike the rest of the capital — and access is strictly controlled by the army.
Several MPs said they were working remotely and that Friday's session had been scrapped.
'There are signals of an increased risk of attacks on the government district in the coming days. Also in Kyiv and Ukraine in general,' MP Yevgenia Kravchuk said.
The presidency, however, assured its office was working 'as usual in compliance with standard security measures: if the alarm sounds, we will be in shelters.'
The apparent heightened risk comes two days after the embassies of several countries, including the US, said they were closed, citing the threat of a Russian attack.
In Moscow meanwhile, Russian defence minister Andrei Belousov said Moscow's advances in the war-battered eastern Ukraine had 'accelerated' and also 'ground down' Kyiv's best units.
'We have, in fact, derailed the entire 2025 campaign,' Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said of the Ukrainian army in a video published by the Russian defence ministry.
Russia later said its forces had 'liberated' the frontline village of Novodmytrivka, about 10 kilometres north of Kurakhove, an embattled civilian hub in the eastern Donetsk region that the Kremlin claims is part of Russia.
Observers of the conflict say Moscow and Kyiv racing to gain battlefield advantages ahead of January 2025, when Donald Trump — who has vowed to end the war without saying how — is due to take office in the US. — AFP