A Russian drone strike has hit a kindergarten in Kharkiv, after massive overnight attacks.
In a post on his X account, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that one person has been killed and seven people have also been injured in the strike and were receiving medical care.
He added that all the children at the kindergarten had been evacuated and were now in shelters. “Preliminary reports indicate that many are showing acute stress reactions,” he said.
“There is no justification for a drone strike on a kindergarten, nor can there ever be. Clearly, Russia is growing more brazen. These strikes are Russia’s spit in the face to everyone who insists on a peaceful resolution. Thugs and terrorists can only be put in their place by force.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Russian drones and missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital and other cities overnight, killing six people in the Kyiv region, including a six-month-old baby, a 12 -year-old girl and a woman, and damaging key energy facilities and several high-rise residential buildings.
The attacks lasted most of Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning as Kyiv was hit by at least four ballistic missiles. A series of loud explosions could be heard across the city.
Towards dawn and the beginning of the morning rush hour, air defences targeting Russian drones was audible above the sound of traffic.
The latest attack came as it was reported that Ukraine had launched a substantial attack on a major chemical plant in Bryansk, in south-western Russia, with Storm Shadow missiles, which are supplied by Britain and France.
Ukrainian drones also hit Russia’s Mordovia region. Ukraine’s military hit a weapons and ammunition plant in Russia’s region of Mordovia and an oil refinery in Russia’s Dagestan in overnight attacks, the Ukrainian General staff said.
The military said in a statement on the Telegram app,“The defence forces continue to take all measures to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian aggressor and force the Russian Federation to stop its armed aggression against Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy asserted that Russia’s latest overnight attacks in the Ukrainian capital and other cities prove that it “does not feel enough pressure for dragging out the war.”
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s energy infrastructure had been “under fire” but residential buildings had also been hit across the Kyiv, Odesa, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy and Sumy regions.
He noted that air defence forces, mobile fire groups, and drone interceptor crews worked all night and into the morning.
He shared his condolences to the families and loved ones of the six people killed and 17 injured. He disclosed that two children were among those killed in the strikes.
Call For United Response To Russia
Moreover, the Ukrainian President called for stronger sanctions on Russia, long-range capabilities and “coordinated diplomacy among all our partners.” He said, “Russian words about diplomacy mean nothing as long as the Russian leadership does not feel critical problems.”
“It is high time the European Union adopted a strong sanctions package. We also count on strong sanctions measures from the United States and the G7, from all those who seek peace. It is very important that the world does not remain silent now and that there is a united response to Russia’s vile strikes.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
He stressed that everyone who is now helping Ukraine with air defence systems and missiles is protecting lives. “We are grateful for that and everyone who helps Ukraine with long-range capabilities will bring the end of the war closer,” he added.
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