International Zelensky calls for swift help after bomb attack - Night at a glance
Following the new bomb attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has called for rapid help from the West with air defense. Ukraine has already received more capabilities to destroy Russian bases for launching missiles near the border and concentrations of occupying troops, said Selenskyj in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev on Saturday. Despite this, there have been 2,400 attacks on Ukraine with Russian guided aerial bombs since the beginning of June alone, including 700 against the Kharkiv region.
23.06.2024, 07:41
SDA
In the video message, Zelenskyi once again condemned the glide bomb attack on a residential building in the center of the city of Kharkiv near a bus stop. Zelensky spoke of three dead and dozens injured. The authorities put the number of injured at 56 in the evening.
Pictures showed severe damage to the building. Zelensky condemned the new act of destruction by Russian terrorists. "Russian terror with glide bombs must and can be stopped," he said. This would require determination and decisions by the allies to protect the lives of the people in the country from Russian missile terror.
Kharkiv, which is not far from the Russian border, has been the target of massive Russian attacks for months. Civilian objects are repeatedly hit there. Dozens of civilians have already been killed or injured. As the Ukrainian air force announced on the Telegram platform, Kharkiv and the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson were attacked by Russian fighter jets with guided glide bombs on Sunday morning. Details of the attacks were not initially available.
An air alert was triggered in the capital region of Kiev early on Sunday morning. According to air defense officials, Russian military forces had fired several "Kalibr" cruise missiles. Both in Kiev and to the west in the Zhytomir region, air defenses went into action and loud explosions could be heard.
Russia reports Ukrainian drone attacks
Flights by Ukrainian combat drones were reported from the southern Russian regions of Smolensk and Bryansk on Sunday night. According to the state agency Tass, Governor Alexander Bogomas claimed that more than 20 drones had been shot down by air defense forces in the Bryansk region alone. The information could not be independently verified.
Zelensky sees success in protecting Ukrainian cities thanks to Western aid
In his video message, Zelenskyi said that more decisions needed to be made in the West to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses. In particular, he had repeatedly called for more US Patriot-type systems. According to him, this is the only way to achieve more success in defending cities and communities and protecting the people. Ukraine is grateful for all the military aid packages that have been approved, but above all it needs them promptly and in full.
"The significant decline in Russian missile terror against Kharkiv and the region proves that it is quite possible to protect our cities and communities from Russian bombs," said Selensky. In addition to the Patriot systems, Ukraine also needs to speed up the training of F-16 fighter pilots and increase the range of its own weapons. Ukraine is expecting the delivery of the first US F-16 fighter jets this summer.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for more than two years with the support of Western allies. One of the country's goals is to regain sovereignty over its own airspace by improving its air defense. However, the country is also struggling with Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.
Power outages in Ukraine after new Russian air strikes
Following new Russian air strikes against the energy infrastructure in Ukraine, the utilities reported further power outages in the attacked country. Due to the damage caused by the attacks, there were hourly power outages throughout Ukraine until around midnight. The energy company Ukrenerho had announced the blackouts in the morning.
Russia repeatedly targets energy infrastructure objects. Repair work is underway throughout the country.
On Saturday night, Moscow damaged energy infrastructure in new airstrikes in the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Lviv (formerly Lviv). Two people were injured in the Zaporizhzhya region, Ukrenerho announced. The company did not provide details of the damage. According to the Ukrainian air force, the Russians attacked with tactical bombers and drones. It was reported that 13 drones and 12 missiles were shot down.
Russia also wants to demoralize the population with its attacks on the energy infrastructure. Although the power grid did not collapse, millions of Ukrainians were repeatedly left in the dark without electricity and therefore also without heating and water. In a study, the Kiev School of Economics (KSE) calculated total damage to the energy infrastructure of 56.2 billion US dollars (52 billion euros). Electricity power plants, power lines and facilities in the oil and gas sector were particularly affected.
