Following a massive attack by Russia, Zelenskyy called for more air defense missiles to be provided to Ukraine
Following Russia’s overnight airstrike, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukraine’s partners to strengthen the country’s air defense and provide more interceptor missiles. According to him, air defense systems are most effective when they are located directly in Ukraine.
The president emphasized that Europe, the U.S., and Ukraine are interested in ending the Russian war, while Russian leader Vladimir Putin continues to use ballistic missiles and drones.
“Europe, America, and Ukraine have long wanted to stop this Russian war. Only Putin does not want this, and he is clinging with all his might to his ballistic missiles and drones to continue fighting. We need to apply more pressure—new sanctions that will prevent the production of these ballistic missiles,” Zelenskyy said.
At the same time, he emphasized the need to further strengthen Ukraine’s air defense.
“Anti-ballistic systems, interceptor missiles for the Patriot, SAMP/T, NASAMS, HAWK, and our F-16s—all of this works and helps protect lives when it’s here in Ukraine, rather than sitting in warehouses thousands of kilometers away from Russian attacks targeting lives,” the president stated.
Zelenskyy reported that during a nighttime attack, Russian drones killed three people in Pukhivka, Kyiv Oblast—a grandfather, a grandmother, and their three-year-old grandson.
“The boy was only three years old. Four others were hospitalized: the child’s parents, his 15-year-old brother, and a neighbor who came to the family’s aid and was wounded during a follow-up strike. The victims suffered thermal burns and shrapnel wounds. My condolences. It was an ordinary residential building. The Russians couldn’t have been unaware of this,” the head of state emphasized.
The president also mentioned the strike by six ballistic missiles on Kyiv’s civilian infrastructure.
“As of now, one fatality has been reported. My condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. The Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Poltava regions were also under fire,” Zelenskyy reported.
The president thanked partners who continue to provide Ukraine with new air defense systems and called for increased support to protect Ukrainian cities and the civilian population.
The head of state announced this on Facebook.
As a reminder, a Russian drone struck the locomotive of a train traveling from Sumy to Kyiv. Passengers were evacuated in time, so there were no casualties.
On the night of August 7–8, Russian forces carried out a massive attack with strike drones on the Dnipropetrovsk region. Six districts in the region were targeted, and one person was wounded.
On the night of August 8, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with six Iskander-M ballistic missiles, S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles, and 151 attack drones.
In Mykolaiv on August 7, a civilian vessel in the port was damaged as a result of an attack by Russian drones. No one was injured.
Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces carried out 978 strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region. Three civilians were killed and four others were wounded as a result of the attacks.
The day before, Russian forces attacked the grounds of a hospital in central Kherson with a drone. Four female medical workers were injured; all suffered blast injuries and concussions.
On the night of July 19, Russian forces launched a ballistic missile strike on Kyiv. One person was killed and eight others were injured as a result of the attack. Damage and fires were reported in five districts of the capital.
Throughout the day on July 17, Russian forces carried out strikes on Kharkiv and 29 other settlements in the Kharkiv region. Two people were killed and 18 others were injured as a result of the shelling; among the injured were five children.
