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Kyiv, UKRAINE (AP) — An overnight drone strike caused massive fires and explosions near the Ukrainian port of Odessa, the military said on Monday.
The airstrike was the latest in a series of recent drone strikes against major southern cities.It hit a military installation and detonated ammunition. Firefighters are trying to contain the blaze, according to the Ukrainian Army’s Southern Command.
There are growing concerns that Russia may seek to escalate the conflict after Ukraine and Western countries complete what they see as an illegal referendum in parts of Russia-controlled Ukraine.
The vote, which ends Tuesday, took place after thousands of residents were evacuated and included images of armed Russian troops going door to door to pressure Ukrainians to vote. This is a step that could give Moscow an excuse to annex the territory and try to defend it as its own under the Russian nuclear umbrella. .
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has made clear that Russia will pay a high price if it succeeds in addressing the veiled threat of using nuclear weapons in conflict.
“If Russia crosses this line, it will be devastating for Russia. The United States will respond decisively,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
Washington’s message went into more detail in a private conversation with his Russian counterpart, he said, but did not go into detail.
“So the Russians know where we are. We know where we are. We plan for every eventuality,” he said. said in a separate comment on ABC’s This Week. “And we will do what is necessary to deter Russia from taking this step.”
Elsewhere, Russian rocket attacks have targeted villages in southeastern Ukraine. The attacks hit an unnamed village and the regional center of Zaporizhia, regional military official Oleksandr Starov said online.
He posted a photo of the damaged building and said unidentified infrastructure was also damaged and the attack started a fire.
Meanwhile, the British military said on Monday that the first units of Russian troops mobilized by Moscow began arriving at the military base.
In an online information briefing, the UK Defense Ministry said “tens of thousands” had been summoned. But Russians face a tough road ahead.
“Unlike most Western armies, the Russian military provides its soldiers with low-level initial training within designated operational units, rather than dedicated training facilities,” said the Briton.
Under normal circumstances, two battalions would be deployed and a third battalion would remain for training. But in the Ukraine war, even the 3rd Battalion has been deployed and its training has weakened, the British said.
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