Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the West to exert more pressure on Russia after a series of strikes targeting Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipro.
Despite recent agreements on a partial ceasefire, Russia continues to breach the terms by targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Since 18 March, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a halt to strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, Ukraine has reported eight confirmed hits on its energy infrastructure by Russian forces. Recently, Russia has concentrated attacks on fewer cities at a time, overwhelming local air defenses. These strikes may be part of Moscow’s broader strategy to continue the war while engaging in prolonged negotiations with the US in an attempt to break out of international isolation.
“Ordinary Ukrainian cities: Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro. Ordinary life—and Russian attacks that should never happen. Every day in Ukraine brings massive drone strikes, most of them Shaheds. It was Iran that taught Russia how to produce such attack drones,” emphasizes Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president states that in Kharkiv alone, Russia carried out more than ten strikes, damaging residential buildings and injuring civilians.
“No country should have to go through this. And against this backdrop, talking about easing pressure on Russia or lifting sanctions is completely inappropriate and counterproductive. Russia kills every day and is dragging out this war. The American proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table for half a month,” Zelenskyy stresses.
He says that pressure on Russia is essential to save lives and make diplomacy work “faster and more effectively. ”
“There will be no results without pressure on Russia,” the Ukrainian president states.
Overnight on 27 March, starting from 8 PM on 26 March, the Russian army attacked Ukraine with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 86 Shahed strike drones and decoy UAVs, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.
The ballistic missile was launched from Voronezh Oblast, while drones were launched from Millerovo, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, as well as from Chaudy in occupied Crimea. The air attack was repelled by aviation, electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force and Defense Forces.
Related:
- Russia attacks Kharkiv and oblast with drones; children among injured
- Ukrainian Air Force strikes Russian troop concentration in Kursk Oblast, military says
- Russian drones injure four civilians overnight
- “Russians erazed my home and took life of my grandmother”: Russia kills, injures civilians across Ukraine