Nfter the heavy Russian rocket attacks on many large cities in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj stressed his country’s will to resist. “Ukraine will not be intimidated, it will only be more united,” he said in his evening video address in Kyiv on Monday. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, 14 people were killed and almost 100 injured in the attacks nationwide in the evening.
In view of the escalation of the war of aggression ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine tried to mobilize further international aid. Selenskyj spoke to US President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and other top western politicians. At the UN, Ukraine called on the world community to condemn the recent illegal annexation of its territories in the south and east by Russia. The group of leading Western industrialized countries (G7) wants to hold a video conference this Tuesday to discuss the intensified Russian attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine.
Selenskyj allows himself to be filmed on the street
“The occupiers can’t face us on the battlefield and that’s why they resort to this terror,” Zelenskyy said of the attacks. His evening video was not, as is usual, recorded in the President’s Office. According to the head of state, he was standing at a damaged crossroads near the University of Kyiv. Excavators, trucks and other clearing equipment could be seen behind him.
In many cities, municipal services are in the process of repairing disrupted electricity and water supplies, Zelenskyy said. He called on the population not to use high-consumption devices if possible. “The more Ukrainians save electricity, the more stable the grid works.” According to the utility Ukrenergo, consumption in the capital was actually a good quarter lower than usual on an autumn evening. The Kiev police increased their patrols on Tuesday night.
Putin called the rocket fire a reaction to alleged Ukrainian attacks against Russian territory. On Saturday, an explosion shook the 19-kilometer bridge that connects Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Biden pledges continued support
US President Biden pledged continued support to Ukraine in the face of massive Russian airstrikes. This also included other modern anti-aircraft systems, as he said in a phone call with Zelenskyy. When it comes to arms deliveries, air defense is currently the top priority, emphasized the Ukrainian President. The US should also show leadership in taking a tough stance from the G7 and supporting a UN General Assembly condemnation of Russia, he tweeted after the call.
National Security Council White House spokesman John Kirby shared Ukraine’s view that Russia had already planned the airstrikes before the explosion on the Crimean bridge. An action of this magnitude could not be worked out in a few days.