Russia has launched another series of missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, killing seven people and wounding dozens more, officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for diplomatic efforts to ensure Kyiv is able to secure weapons more quickly.
Two glide bombs hit a crowded area in the northern city of Sumy, a frequent Russian target, killing five people and injuring 30, authorities said.
One bomb hit a bus stop, with footage released by Ukrainian emergency services showing a yellow bus with one of its sides ripped off in the aftermath.
Firefighters also worked to extinguish a blaze that started in a damaged apartment building.
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Glide bombs injured 10 in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, the regional governor said, while two people were killed and another was wounded earlier in the day by a missile strike on the southern port city of Odesa.
Twelve people, meanwhile, were wounded in the capital Kyiv during an overnight attack that used ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones.
Mr Zelenskyy, speaking in his nightly video address, said Ukraine needed its allies to ensure weapons supplies were provided more promptly.
“I am preparing changes in Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts. We need a new level of cooperation with our partners to ensure that agreements on arms supplies are fulfilled,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“Agreements reached by national leaders must be implemented much more quickly and completely.“
This, he said, applied to an agreement reached with US President Donald Trump this week to grant Ukraine a licence to produce its own Patriot interceptor missiles.
Ukraine is particularly low on munitions for its Patriot air defence systems, leaving it largely unable to down ballistic missiles, which travel at several times the speed of sound, over the past month.
It has pleaded with allies for greater supplies of those munitions, and has also pushed Europe to work with Kyiv on its own anti-ballistic air defence system.
“Civilian infrastructure was hit even before the air raid alert was issued,” Zelenskyy said earlier of the attacks on Kyiv.
“Our defenders managed to shoot down most of the targets, but not the ballistic ones.”
Russia has stepped up its attacks on the capital over the past few weeks, with strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region killing more than 60 people so far this month.
Kyiv, in turn, has been pressuring Russia’s military logistics in occupied southern Ukraine, seeking to deprive Russian forces of fuel and munitions by conducting strikes on trucks and vessels deep behind the front lines.
Ukraine’s drone forces chief Robert Brovdi said his units had struck 21 fuel tanker vessels in the Sea of Azov overnight, as well as seven other cargo and support ships, bringing the total number of vessels struck this week to 76.
Mr Zelenskyy has said the aim of the drone campaign is to bring Russia to the negotiating table, although Russia’s Vladimir Putin has not yet shown any willingness to soften his position.
One person was killed in a drone attack on four vessels, including a tanker carrying methanol, in Taganrog Bay on the Sea of Azov, Russian authorities said on Saturday.
Zelenskyy says officials will be held accountable for weapons store
Also on Saturday, Mr Zelenskyy said officials who allowed weapons warehouses to operate in a residential area outside Kyiv where explosions killed 10 people earlier this week had been identified and would be held accountable.
A Russian strike this week on the small town of Vyshneve, on Kyiv’s western outskirts, hit a warehouse housing arms, setting off a series of secondary explosions.
Hundreds of houses were damaged.
Local resident Tetiana surveys the destruction in Vyshneve on Tuesday. (Reuters: Thomas Peter)
Mr Zelenskyy said an investigation by the Ukrainian Security Service had established which officials within the state weapons producer, Ukroboronprom, had authorised use of the warehouse.
Without identifying those accused, Mr Zelenskyy said the heads of two state-owned enterprises had also operated in violation of the law and of decisions taken by Ukraine’s military.
“This was a direct violation of both the law and a decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s staff,” he said.
“The responsible officials have been identified and the state’s position is that each of them must be held accountable.”
Reuters
