Zelenskyy: We must respond jointly with partners to Russia's attempt to prolong war
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
It is necessary to respond, together with partners, to Russia's attempts to make the situation more unbearable and prolong the war. In particular, Ukraine and its allies must strengthen their positions, according to the evening address of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy stated that today he received a report from the head of the Defense Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, regarding Russia's plans for missile strikes.
The president also had a conversation with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
He reminded that yesterday he discussed this situation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Additionally, Zelenskyy has a scheduled conversation tomorrow with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"We must respond together to Russia's attempt to make the situation more unbearable and its attempt to prolong this war. We are interested in peace. We and all our partners. Now we need to strengthen our positions – Ukraine's positions, the positions of our partners," the president emphasized.
He stressed that any Russian blackmail must be met with a tough response – one that the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin deserves.
"And we need to see the perspective – the perspective of ending the war with true peace together with America, Europe, and all our partners. True peace is needed – peace through strength, not this series of catastrophes where one dictator in Moscow has imposed his conditions with missiles on every new leader for 25 years," Zelenskyy noted.
Massive shelling of Ukraine
Today, Russia launched a new massive attack on Ukraine, firing 91 missiles and 97 drones. The strikes primarily targeted the energy sector.
The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported 12 impacts, mainly on fuel and energy infrastructure. Rescue teams stated that damage was recorded in 14 regions of Ukraine.
Infrastructure was damaged in the Rivne, Lviv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Volyn, Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mykolaiv, and Vinnytsia regions.
During the shelling, energy workers implemented emergency power outages. While the emergency restrictions have been lifted, scheduled outages remain in effect.
More details about the consequences of Russia's massive attack on the energy sector can be found in the RBC-Ukraine report.
