Fox News Flash top headlines for August 24
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
Pope Francis urged Russia not to cause a "nuclear disaster" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Wednesday.
Wednesday marks both Ukraine's traditional Independence Day and six months since the start of Russia's invasion. The Zaporizhzhia plant has been under Russian control since the early weeks of the war, and experts have warned that destroying it could lead to a "Chernobyl on steroids."
Ukrainian officials criticized the Pope for another part of his speech in which he described 29-year-old Daria Dugina, who was killed in a car bombing in Moscow on Saturday, as an innocent victim.
"Innocents pay for war," Francis Wednesday, going on to reference "that poor girl thrown in the air by a bomb under the seat of a car in Moscow."
UKRAINE WARNS RUSSIA IT INTENDS TO TAKE BACK CRIMEA
Pope Francis holds his homily during a Mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany at St. Peter's Basilica on Jan. 6, 2022, in Vatican City, Vatican. (AleVatican Pool/Getty Images)
A Russian serviceman stands guard the territory outside the second reactor of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Energodar on May 1, 2022. (ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Dugina was the daughter of influential Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who pushed aggressively for the war in Ukraine.
US WARNS RUSSIA MAY INCREASE CIVILIAN STRIKES AS UKRAINE'S INDEPENDENCE DAY NEARS
While the Russian FSB has said Ukraine is to blame for the attack, Ukrainian officials have rejected those accusations. Andrii Yurash, Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican, called Pope Francis' comments "disappointing" on Twitter.
"Today’s speech from the Pope was disappointing," Yurash wrote, calling Dugina an "ideologist of imperialism" and alleging that "she was killed by Russians."
"Can’t speak in same categories about aggressor and victim, rapist and raped," he added.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Dugina had espoused many of the same Russian nationalist views as her father in her career as a TV commentator.
Antisemitism Exposed
Fox News' Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world."
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.