Zelensky once again calls on partners to accelerate the provision of long-range weapons and air defense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again appealed to foreign countries to speed up the provision of long-range weapons and air defense after a rocket attack in the city of Vilniansk near Zaporizhzhia killed seven people, including two children.
In total, at least 11 civilians were killed and another 37 were injured in rocket fire across Ukraine on Saturday, Reuters reported.
“Seven people, including two children, were killed by a Russian missile strike in the Zaporizhzhia region. My condolences to all those who lost their loved ones. As of now, eleven people are known to be injured – three of them are children. All services are on the ground and will help as much as possible. Unfortunately, the number the number of victims may still increase…
Our cities and communities suffer daily from such Russian attacks. But there are ways to overcome it: destroy terrorists where they are, destroy Russian missile launchers, strike really long-range and increase the number of modern air defense systems in Ukraine.
I thank all partners who help. And the decisions we need must be accelerated. Any delay in decisions in this war means the loss of human lives.
Our cities and communities suffer from such Russian strikes every day,” – wrote Zelensky in his Telegram channel.
He posted images from Vilniansk showing a large crater near a smoldering building, as well as several bodies lying on the ground.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin said that two rockets hit the city, damaging the infrastructure, a shop and residential buildings. He also reported that four people were killed and seven were injured as a result of artillery strikes on three villages near the front line in the east of Donetsk region.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has not publicly commented on the attack. However, Russian Telegram channels published footage of a missile attack on the railway, which, it is claimed, was near the settlement of Ukrainka – less than 10 km from Vilniansk – and was used by Ukrainian forces to unload weapons and military equipment.
Western allies have already supplied Ukraine with a number of long-range weapons, including Scalp missiles from France, Storm Shadow from the UK and ATACMS from the US, as well as US-made Patriot air defense systems. As noted by the Western media, the largest supplier of weapons to the United States was dissatisfied after the bill on further military assistance was delayed in Congress. The law was eventually passed in April, and air defense systems and long-range missiles arrived on the front lines the following month. But Ukraine blamed the loss of life and Russia’s temporary territorial gains on a shortage of ammunition and air defense missiles for the delay.
Now Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to call on foreign countries for further support to win the war. In a Telegram, he thanked the Allies for their help, but said the decision to send more weapons must be speeded up because any delay in accepting them in this war means the loss of lives.
