Fear of Russian rocket strikes: Ukraine bans Independence Day rallies

KYIV: Ukraine s capital Kyiv banned public celebrations this week to commemorate independence from Russian-dominated Soviet rule and its second city Kharkiv declared a curfew due to a heightened threat of Russian attack, local authorities said.

Near frontlines in the south of the country, Ukraine said Russia fired rockets into several southern Ukrainian towns north and west of Europe s largest nuclear power plant, captured by Russian forces shortly after they invaded Ukraine in February.

Artillery and rocket fire in the region of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor complex, on the Russian-occupied south bank of the Dnipro River, has stirred fears of a nuclear disaster and led to calls for the surrounding area to be demilitarised.

The head of Ukraine s armed forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said on Monday that nearly 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel have been killed in the war with Russia. The toll appeared to be the first provided by Ukraine s military top brass since Russia s invasion.