Day 204: Zelenskyy in Car Crash as Russian Missile Strikes Cause Flooding in Kryvyi Rih
Facts
- Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was involved in a car crash on his return from a visit to troops in the Kharkiv region, his spokesman Sergii Nikiforov said on Thursday. Reportedly Zelenskyy did not suffer serious injuries after a passenger vehicle collided with his presidential motorcade. The unnamed motorist received medical attention from Zelenskyy's medical team and was taken away by ambulance, Nikiforov said. The spokesman also added that the circumstances of the crash were being investigated.
- It comes as European Commission Pres. Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv for her third visit to Ukraine on Thursday. She said she would address, "how to continue getting our economies and people closer while Ukraine progresses towards accession" to the bloc. Meanwhile, at the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan's Samarkand, Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping are set to hold their first face-to-face talks since the beginning of the war.
- The UN's António Guterres also held talks with Putin this week. Following a phone call on Wed., Guterres said the leaders discussed Russian fertilizer exports, prisoners of war, and the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. However, he added he has "minimal" hopes for a peace deal: "I would be lying if I would say that I hope that it will happen soon," he said.
- In the meantime, 112 homes in Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih were forced to evacuate after Russian cruise missiles struck a dam and hydraulic facilities late on Wed., causing flooding from the Inhulets River in the region. Local officials said water levels began to recede on Thursday.
- Russian attacks were also reported elsewhere in the Dnipropetrovsk region, in addition to the region of Mykolaiv and the city of Zaporizhzhia. No casualties were recorded. In Donetsk, Ukrainian officials said two civilians were killed and 13 more were injured. Separatist officials in the region said four civilians were injured in Ukrainian shelling.
- Elsewhere, Ukrainian officials said three women have been arrested from the recently liberated cities of Izyum and Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, for allegedly collaborating with Russian forces. Two worked in law enforcement while the third was a tax official.
Sources: Pravda, Associated Press, and Ukrinform.
Narratives
- Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by PBS News Hour. This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after an election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
- Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by National Security Archive. NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.