Zelenskyi reacts to Iran\u2019s major attack on Israel. Ukraine\u2019s General Staff warns of another Russian false flag operation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Satellite images show the aftermath of Ukraine\u2019s air strike on Russian military facilities in Luhansk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi condemned Iran\u2019s Saturday drone and missile attack on Israel and drew a parallel between Tehran\u2019s tactics in Israel and those employed by Russia against Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Writing on the social media platform X, Zelenskyi said: \u201cUkraine condemns Iran\u2019s attack on Israel using \u2018Shahed\u2019 drones and missiles. We in Ukraine know very well the horror of similar attacks by Russia, which uses the same \u2018Shahed\u2019 drones and Russian missiles, the same tactics of mass air strikes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s actions pose a regional and global threat, much like those of Russia, he emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery effort must be made to prevent a further escalation in the Middle East. Iran’s actions threaten the entire region and the world, just as Russia’s actions threaten a larger conflict, and the obvious collaboration between the two regimes in spreading terror must face a resolute and united response from the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe sound of \u2018Shahed\u2019 drones, a tool of terror, is the same in the skies over the Middle East and Europe. This sound must serve as a wake-up call to the free world, demonstrating that only our unity and resoluteness can save lives and prevent the spread of terror worldwide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyi also called for resolute action, saying that discussions are not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe world cannot wait for discussions to go on. Words do not stop drones and do not intercept missiles. Only tangible assistance does. The assistance we are anticipating. We must strengthen security and resolutely counter all those who want to make terror a new normal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian forces are preparing to carry out \u201canother provocation\u201d \u2014 a false-flag operation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Sunday, citing intelligence data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRussia is the only terrorist in the world that holds a nuclear power plant hostage and uses it to blackmail Ukraine and the entire world. No one else except Russian terrorists has consciously put the world on the brink of a nuclear disaster,\u201d Ukraine\u2019s General Staff said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past weeks alone, Russia has several times tried to shift onto Ukraine the responsibility for the use of drones to attack the facilities at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia consciously continues to blackmail Ukraine and the international community with a risk of a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant, the statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUkraine has always handled the safety of nuclear facilities responsibly. It\u2019s only when Ukraine regains control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that the station\u2019s safety can be restored. As long as Russian terrorists are deployed to the plant, keep their weapons and conduct their operations there, it is not possible to guarantee the plant\u2019s safety,\u201d the General Staff said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine\u2019s defense forces struck the control post of the Russian \u201cCenter\u201d military grouping of troops in occupied Luhansk on Saturday, Ukraine\u2019s Air Force said the next day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reports and footage of explosions in Russian-held Luhansk surfaced on social media on April 13. RFE\/RL\u2019s Donbas.Realii project said the strike hit the Luhansk machine building plant where Russian forces repaired military vehicles and housed troops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Satellite images dated April 14 provided by Planet Labs show significant damage to at least one building of the plant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n