ZAPORIZHZHIA (Ukraine): A Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 13 people, Ukrainian officials said, one of the deadliest single air attacks for weeks in the three-year war.
Moscow has ramped up its strikes on Ukraine since the onset of winter, casting some of the attacks as retaliation for Kyiv firing on Russian territory with Westernsupplied weapons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Wednesday’s bombardment “cruel” and called for the world to rally around Ukraine, and against Russia, to bring about a “lasting peace”.
He posted video footage showing several people lying wounded on the streets, covered with debris, and first responders hoisting victims onto makeshift stretchers.
The strike came hours after Ukrainian drones hit an oil depot that supplies Russia’s air force, hundreds of kilometres behind the front lines, triggering a blaze that claimed the lives of two Russian firefighters. “The Russians conducted two strikes with guided aerial bombs on the city of Zaporizhzhia.
They exploded among crowds of people,” Ukraine’s interior ministry said in a statement.
Thirteen people were killed and at least 30 wounded in the attack, Zelensky said, accusing Russia of deliberately targeting civilians. “There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer,” he said in a message on social media.
“This again demonstrates what Russia really wants. They want only war and only victims.” The Ukrainian leader will attend a meeting of Ukraine’s key allies in Germany on Thursday in a bid to rally support for Kyiv.
It will be the last Ramstein meeting — named after the air base in Germany where the gatherings take place — before US Presidentelect Donald Trump assumes office.
Trump has threatened to cut vital military aid to Ukraine and pledged a swift end to the war — raising fears in Kyiv he could force it to accept peace terms favourable to Moscow. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the outgoing US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will also travel to Germany for the meeting. – AFP
