Fears grow of Russian attacks

KYIV, Aug 23 (Reuters/AFP): The United States on Tuesday urged its citizens to leave Ukraine, saying it believed Russia was preparing to target civilian and government infrastructure in the next few days as the war reaches the six-month mark.

The warning followed a ban by the Ukrainian government on celebrations in the capital Kyiv on Wednesday's anniversary of independence from Soviet rule due to fears of attack.

Leaders of dozens of countries and international organizations were due to take part on Tuesday in the so-called Crimea Platform in solidarity with Ukraine on the Russian invasion's six-month anniversary. Most would do so by video.

On the battlefield, Russian forces carried out artillery and air strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine, where fighting has taken place near Europe's largest nuclear power plant, the Ukrainian military said.

But six months on from Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, and with thousands of deaths and widespread destruction of cities, the conflict is locked in a stalemate.

Russian forces control a large swathe of the south, including along the Black Sea coast, and chunks of the eastern Donbas region. The prospects for peace look almost non-existent.

Fearing a surge in Russian attacks, the US Embassy in Kyiv on Tuesday urged US citizens to leave if they could.

"The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days," the embassy said in a statement.

US citizens should leave Ukraine "now" by their own means if it was safe to do so, it said.

Although it was not the first time the United States has issued such a warning, this one was made as Ukraine was due on Wednesday to mark 31 years of independence from Soviet rule.

An AFP report adds: Russia accused on Monday Ukraine over the assassination of the daughter of a leading hardliner, as Kyiv said nearly 9,000 of its soldiers had been killed since Moscow launched its invasion.

The FSB security services pointed the finger at Ukraine for Saturday's shock car bombing in Moscow's outskirts that killed Daria Dugina, the 29-year-old daughter of Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin, an outspoken advocate for the invasion of Ukraine.

"The crime was prepared and committed by Ukrainian special services," the FSB said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies, adding that a bomb had been attached to the car driven by Dugina.