Regional governor Vitaliy Kim urged residents of Mykolayiv to be extremely vigilant about their own safety in upcoming days. The warning comes amid the talk Moscow can intensify bombardments in the run-up to Ukraine’s Independence Day.

The regional authorities planned no public events on the national holiday given the context of the situation.

Warning against any get-togethers in offices, Vitali Kim also dismissed the fears of a new Russian offensive in the region.  ‘It is being overblown to make everybody scared. The military see no prospects of coming advancement of the enemy toward Mykolayiv,’ assured the governor.