Zelensky on massive attack: Russia not seeking to end war, more pressure needed
Russia has been carrying out drone attacks on Ukraine virtually around the clock, with more than 40 people reported injured so far, including five children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his nightly video address, Ukrinform reports.
"Today, for almost the entire day, starting from last night, Russia has been striking Ukraine with Shaheds. There was a massive attack during the night – both missiles and Shaheds – and throughout the day, new waves of drones continued. More than 550 drones of various types were launched just today, a significant number of them specifically Shaheds. The geography of this attack is extensive. Although the majority of drones were shot down – more than 500 confirmed interceptions – unfortunately, there were still hits in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, as well as in the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Kharkiv, and Dnipro regions. Sadly, people have been killed. My condolences to the families and loved ones. As of now, more than 40 people have been reported injured, including five children. All are receiving the necessary assistance," Zelensky said.
According to him, the enemy continues its operation to break Ukraine and its energy system. City centers were also targeted, including the historic center of Lviv and, in particular, St. Andrew's Church, whose history dates back to the early 17th century.
"Iranian Shaheds enhanced by Russia hit a church in Lviv – this is utterly perverse, and only the likes of Putin could take pleasure in it. In Ivano-Frankivsk, a maternity hospital was damaged," Zelensky said.
He noted that the scale of today's attack strongly indicates that Russia has no intention of really ending this war. Given that Russia is also assisting the Iranian regime in carrying out strikes across the region, the conclusion is obvious: without additional and strong pressure on Russia, without tangible losses for Moscow, there will be no willingness to end the war, Zelensky said.
In his opinion, there is currently insufficient pressure on Moscow, and there are signals that encourage Russia, increasing its aggressiveness.
"The fact that sanctions against Russia have been partially eased serves Russia’s interest to continue the war. The Russians will earn at least two billion dollars from the easing of sanctions in these weeks alone. This is dangerous for everyone," Zelensky said.
He thanked everyone working on new and effective formats of international coordination to jointly defend against missile and drone attacks.
"There definitely must be more control and more coordination, so that Russia, the Iranian regime, and other similar formations cannot easily access microelectronics or other components needed to produce weapons. Europe and other parts of the world must certainly have greater production capacity and more cooperation to ensure modern and reliable air defense," Zelensky said.
According to him, the technologies of war have reached a level where air defense must be multi-component.
"To be truly strong, air defense must be collaborative – when it's not just one party, but everyone acting together to protect the skies," Zelensky said.
As was reported, earlier Russian forces attacked a number of Ukrainian cities on Tuesday, including Lviv, Vinnytsia, and Ivano-Frankivsk.
In Lviv, 22 people were reported injured.
In Ivano-Frankivsk, two people were killed and four others, including a six-year-old child, were injured in the drone attack.
In the Vinnytsia region, one person was killed and 11 others were injured as a result of a Russian UAV attack.