Battleground reports from the Russia-Ukraine conflict: shelling hits Nikopol near nuclear plant; Zelenskiy warns Moscow from trying Ukrainian soldiers

In a warning to Moscow, Zelenskiy says that Ukrainian soldiers shouldn't be tried. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine has cautioned Russia not to try Ukrainian soldiers kidnapped during the siege of Mariupol, saying that doing so would jeopardize the prospect of negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned in his latest video speech that discussions with Russia are off the table if the "absurd and vile trial" of Ukrainian soldiers goes through in Mariupol.

Abuse is inevitable if this vile court is allowed to function and our people are transported there in defiance of all treaties and norms established at the international level.

Beyond this point, there will be no further discussion. Nikopol, which is located close to a nuclear power station, has recently been the target of shelling.

Near the nuclear facility in Zaporizhzhia, the Ukrainian city of Nikopol came under fire from artillery.

Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported through Telegram that Nikopol had been shelled five times.

On Wednesday, Ukraine will celebrate its independence, and in honor of the occasion, Russian missile assaults are expected to increase.

The military issued a warning that Russia had deployed five warships and submarines equipped with cruise missiles to the Black Sea, and that Russia had also deployed air defense systems to Belarus. Kyiv has issued a four-day ban on large gatherings starting on Monday.

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Ukraine is celebrating its 31st year of independence this week, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has expressed concern that Russia "may try to do something really terrible, something particularly vicious."

Near the Ukrainian city of Nikopol is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, and recently it has been the target of artillery fire.

Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported five separate shelling incidents in Nikopol through Telegram. According to him, 25 artillery shells landed in the city, starting a fire at a factory and knocking out electricity for almost three thousand people.

The Ukrainian government has claimed that Russian missiles had struck sites in the vicinity of Odesa. Monday, a representative for the regional government reported that five Russian Kalibr cruise missiles had been launched from the Black Sea into the area, citing information from the southern military command.

No one was hurt even though three of the missiles reached their agricultural objectives and two were knocked down by Ukrainian air defenses. On Sunday, Russia claimed that the missiles had damaged a warehouse storing US-made Himars rocket weapons, while Ukraine claimed that a granary had been destroyed.

On Saturday night, a vehicle bomb on the outskirts of Moscow murdered the daughter of an ultranationalist Russian theorist and ally of Vladimir Putin.

At before 9:30 p.m. local time (19:00 BST), a huge explosion tore apart the Toyota Land Cruiser in which Darya Dugina, whose father is the Russian political analyst Alexander Dugin, was traveling in the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy.

An ex-member of Russia's Duma has accused Russian partisans of carrying out the car bombing.

Ilya Ponomarev, who was expelled for anti-Kremlin activities, alleged the explosion was the work of the National Republican Army, which he claimed was an underground group active within Russia and dedicated to destroying the Putin dictatorship. This is a new chapter in the Russian people's fight against Putinism, he said. Originally published on MSN.