Putin buying time to continue fighting - Zelensky

This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address to the nation, Ukrinform reports.

"A cynical Russian strike on ordinary cities. More than 400 drones, over 40 missiles. A significant part was shot down. But not all of them. And, unfortunately, not everyone around the world condemns such strikes. And this is exactly what Putin is exploiting. He is buying himself time to keep fighting. The Russians are constantly trying to split the world in order to prevent the pressure over their war from increasing. We need to see the task clearly. Diplomacy must work, there must be security guarantees, peace must be achieved, and this requires initial steps, including a ceasefire. We need to put pressure on Russia to make this happen and for the strikes to stop," Zelensky said.

The president noted that rescue operations continued throughout the day in various regions, including Ternopil, Lutsk, Kyiv, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Chernihiv, Odesa, and Sumy.

A total of 80 people have been injured. As of now, four deaths have been confirmed – in Kyiv and Lutsk.

"My condolences go out to families and friends. There may still be people under the rubble. Those killed in Kyiv are rescuers who scrambled to the scene of the first strike and, unfortunately, were killed by Russia’s double-tap attack. Danylo Skadin, Andriy Remennyi, and Pavlo Ezgor were firefighters-rescuers with the 18th State Fire and Rescue Unit," Zelensky said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on the night of June 6, Russia launched a combined missile and drone attack on Ukrainian cities.

Photo: President’s Office