Attacks on own hometown
Zelenskyj calls for more missiles and tougher sanctions
08/01/2023 00:26
Several people die in Russian airstrikes, including in the hometown of the Ukrainian president. Selenskyj then calls for more and longer-range missiles in order to be able to fight this terror. At the same time, Russia is also reporting more airstrikes against Ukraine and has declared their offensive “failed”.
After the heavy rocket attacks on his hometown of Kryvyi Rih, among other things, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has again called for stricter sanctions against Russia. “The global sanctions pressure against Russia deserves a significant increase,” said Zelenskyj in his evening video address. In particular, loopholes in sanctions that Russia uses to keep its arms production running must be closed.
In addition, the Ukrainian head of state once again insisted on longer-range missiles for his country. This is necessary “so that we can eliminate this terrorist threat that Russia is creating against our people, against our children,” he said.
In addition to Kryvyi Rih, Russia had previously attacked the city of Cherson in southern Ukraine. In Kryvyi Rih, two Russian rockets hit a nine-story apartment building and a university building. Most recently, there was talk of six dead and 75 injured, including several children. According to official figures, four civilians died in Kherson and 17 others were injured.
According to local authorities, a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother were among the dead in Kryvyi Rih. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the attacks on Monday morning hit several floors of a nine-story apartment building and a university building.
For their part, Russian authorities reported four dead and ten wounded in a Ukrainian rocket attack on the city of Donetsk in the partially Russian-held region in the east of the country. The attack hit the city center, Moscow-appointed Donetsk Prime Minister Denis Puschilin said on Telegram. A bus was destroyed.
Shoigu promises better air defense
Another person was killed in Ukrainian shelling of the nearby town of Horlivka, according to Russian authorities. Three people were killed and 15 injured in an attack on a Russian-occupied village in the Zaporizhia region. In a Ukrainian drone attack in Trubchevsk in western Russia, a police station was also hit, regional governor Alexander Bogomas said on Telegram. People were not injured, but the roof and windows of the station were destroyed.
On Sunday, Russia said it shot down three Ukrainian drones in the capital Moscow. Two office buildings were damaged and one airport had to be closed for a short time. Moscow is around 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The urban area and the surrounding area of the Russian capital had only rarely been targeted since the start of the Ukraine war. Recently, however, there have been several drone attacks on Moscow, for which Russian authorities blamed Ukraine.
In response to the Ukrainian attacks, Russia says it has increased its targeting of military facilities in Ukraine. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also announced on Monday “additional steps” to improve “defense against air and sea attacks”. At the same time, Shoigu assured that the long-prepared Ukrainian counter-offensive, which has been ongoing since the beginning of June, was “unsuccessful” and “failed”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the drone strikes on Moscow as “acts of desperation” by Ukraine.