Ukraine threatened to strike Russian targets in Crimea, Russia warned against a Ukrainian "provocation" during the visit of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and NATO demanded that Russia withdraw its forces from the Zaporozhye nuclear plant.
On Thursday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said there were no restrictions preventing the Ukrainian army from conducting strikes in Crimea.
The minister stressed that all Russian military installations in the occupied Ukrainian territories are legitimate targets of the Ukrainian army, including the Crimea, as he put it.
Reznikov explained that his country is impatiently waiting for the US-made "Attams" missiles, which have a range of 300 km.
And Mikhailo Podolyak, adviser to the director of the Ukrainian president's office, threatened yesterday to destroy the Kerch bridge linking Russia and the Crimea, in light of Moscow's recent announcement of the explosion of an ammunition depot in the region.
Podolyak added - in an interview with the British newspaper "The Guardian" - that the bridge "is illegal and is the main gateway to supply the Russian army in the Crimea, and it must be destroyed."
Zaporozhye station
In the latest developments, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to withdraw its forces from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
Stoltenberg stressed - in a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at NATO headquarters - that the seizure of the facility by Russian soldiers constitutes a threat to the security of the station.
In contrast, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces do not deploy heavy weapons at the Zaporozhye nuclear plant in Ukraine, and that there are only guard units.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine - in a statement - of planning a "provocation" tomorrow, coinciding with the visit of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The station has come under fire repeatedly in recent weeks, and Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of responsibility for the bombing, and Ukraine has said Russia has deployed artillery in and around the station.
Erdogan and Guterres
On the other hand, the Turkish presidency said - in a statement - that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit the Ukrainian city of Lviv today, Thursday, at the invitation of his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, and they will discuss bilateral relations that reach the level of strategic partnership.
The two presidents will also meet with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who arrived in Lviv Thursday morning, to discuss ways to strengthen the Ukrainian grain export mechanism to world markets, in addition to the steps that can be implemented in order to find a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that the ship "Maria" had left the Ukrainian port of Chernomorsk, and that 4 ships would head towards Ukrainian ports today.
American support
In a related context, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken discussed - in a call with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba - continuing US support for Ukraine's defense needs.
The US State Department said - in a statement - that Blinken briefed his Ukrainian counterpart on security aid deliveries, and condemned the recent Russian measures around the nuclear power plant in Zaporozhye.
The statement stated that Blinken renewed the call for an end to all military operations at nuclear facilities, the return of full control of these facilities to Ukraine, and an end to the war.
Black Sea Fleet
The RIA Novosti news agency quoted a Russian source as saying that President Vladimir Putin appointed Admiral Viktor Sokolov as the new commander of the Black Sea Fleet, which is based in the Crimea, to succeed General Igor Osipov.
The agency stated that the appointment was made without an inauguration ceremony due to the state of emergency imposed by the authorities of the peninsula since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not announce the decision to appoint Sokolov, who held several military positions, most notably the deputy commander of the Russian Northern Fleet.
The appointment of the new commander of the Russian fleet comes after the Black Sea Fleet was subjected to several attacks during the war on Ukraine, most notably the sinking of the cruiser "Moscow" last April.
Bombing and killing
On the field level, Al-Jazeera correspondent reported this Thursday morning that two people were killed and dozens wounded in a missile attack on the Slobodsky suburb of the Ukrainian Kharkiv province.
A video clip published by Ukrainian platforms showed the moment a missile fired by the Russian forces fell on a children's park in the city of Kharkiv, destroying the place without causing any casualties among civilians.
At least 6 people were killed and 16 others were injured yesterday, Wednesday, in a Russian bombing of Kharkiv (the second largest city in Ukraine), according to what the local authorities announced.
Yesterday, President Zelensky spoke of the "complete destruction" of an apartment building as a result of the bombing.
He wrote on Telegram: "A disgraceful attack on civilians with no justification that proves the impotence of the aggressor. We will not forgive, we will avenge."
The Ukrainian army has published video clips showing the destruction of Russian military vehicles in Nova Kakhovka in the Ukrainian region of Kherson, as a result of targeting by special operations.