On the 182nd day of the Russian invasion, Ukraine is preparing for possible brutal strikes as it marks the 31st anniversary of the country’s liberation from the Soviet Union. Authorities have banned gatherings in Kyiv as Western and Ukrainian officials warn that Russia is preparing to attack the capital again. Russia and Putin’s regime are “really obsessed with data and symbols, so it would make sense for them to be alert and ready to attack on Independence Day,” said Andriy Yusov, head of the intelligence department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Highlights of Wednesday, the 182nd day of the Ukrainian war, LIVETEXT:

07:18 Six months of war in Ukraine – 10 key moments

01:16 Zelenskyi about the suspect in the murder of Daria Dugina: “It is not our responsibility”

00:53 Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says his country is past the worst-case scenario of a Russian invasion. The main danger that remains for Kyiv

00:36 Poland calls on Germany to dismantle the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline: “There is no return to business as usual”

23:55 Reuters: The US will announce the largest package of military aid to Ukraine

23:32 The arrival of autumn causes new excitement in the Kremlin / What Vladimir Putin’s advisers are afraid of

10:46 in the evening How the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine mocks the new explosion in Belgorod: “5 main reasons for explosions in Russia”

Summary of the most important events in the last 24 hours

• Ukraine is preparing for possible brutal strikes as it celebrates Independence Day and the 31st anniversary of the end of Soviet rule. Authorities canceled celebrations in Kyiv as officials warned that Russia was preparing to attack the capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had information from Ukrainian intelligence and international partners that there was an increased threat, while the US said it believed Russia would attack civilian and government infrastructure in the coming days. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine advised Ukrainians to be especially careful.

• According to an aide to the Ukrainian president, many civilians are trying to leave Kyiv due to fears of a Russian attack. Alex Rodnyansky said people are concerned and “certainly there is some concern” that decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital could be affected on Wednesday.

• Zelensky warned Russia of a tough response to any possible attacks on Independence Day. Ukrainian special services are cooperating with foreign special services, he said at a press conference on Tuesday, warning that Russia “will receive a response, a strong response.”

• Zelensky also promised to return Crimea to Ukraine, saying it would become part of the European Union along with the rest of the country.

• The UN nuclear body will visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant “in the coming days, if the current negotiations are successful.”

• The United States is to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine worth about $3 billion, officials said, to prepare the country for a war of attrition and secure its medium- and long-term defense posture.

• Ukraine has accused Russia of organizing the illegal adoption of Ukrainian children after their transfer from the occupied territories to mainland Russia. “More than 1,000 children from Mariupol, a city in southern Ukraine occupied by Russian troops, were illegally transferred to foreigners in Tyumen, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and Altai Krai” in Siberia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported.

• The UN said it was “deeply concerned” by the Russian-backed government’s plans to hold trials of Ukrainian soldiers captured in Mariupol. Pro-Russian officials appear to be installing metal cages in a courtroom in Mariupol as part of plans to set up what they call an “international tribunal,” and such a trial could itself be considered a war crime, they say. UN.

• A $75 million superyacht owned by a Russian steel billionaire has been auctioned off in Gibraltar. This is the first sale of the oligarch’s assets since Putin invaded Ukraine in February. Axioma was seized from Dmytro Pumpianskyi in March following sanctions imposed by the UK, the EU and the US.

• Hundreds of people gathered in Moscow for the funeral of Daria Dugina, the daughter of one of the most prominent ideologues of Russian nationalism, Alexander Dugin. Dugina died during a car bombing near Moscow on Saturday. Russia’s FSB accused Ukrainian special services of ordering her murder, which Kyiv denies.