“It is important that there is a broad response from partners to this attack today,” said Zelensky in his evening address, adding that Putin was “testing the world.”
“We are counting on a strong response from America. That is what is needed.”
Zelensky’s statement followed Trump remarks that he was ready to impose
more sanctions on Russia, after the Kremlin unleashed its biggest-ever
aerial barrage at Ukraine.
Russian missiles and drones rained down across Ukraine early Sunday,
killing four people and setting government offices in the capital Kyiv
ablaze.
Trump told reporters after the assault he was “not happy with the whole
situation” and said he was prepared to move forward on new sanctions on
Moscow.
Russia has intensified its onslaught against Ukraine since a meeting
between Trump and President Vladimir Putin on August 15 failed to make
any breakthrough on a ceasefire.
After Sunday’s attack on Kyiv, flames could be seen rising from the
roof of the sprawling government complex that houses Ukraine’s cabinet
of ministers in the heart of the city — the first time it has been hit
during the three-and-a-half-year conflict.
Drone strikes also damaged several high-rise buildings in the Ukrainian capital, according to emergency services.
Russia denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.
It said it struck a plant and a logistics hub in Kyiv, with the Russian
defense ministry saying “no strikes were carried out on other targets
within the boundaries of Kyiv.”
‘Deliberate crime’
Russia fired at least 810 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine between
late Saturday and early Sunday in a new record, according to the
Ukrainian air force.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted a video showing a damaged floor in the government building.
“We will restore the buildings,” she said. “But we cannot bring back lost lives. The enemy terrorizes and kills our people every day throughout the country.”
Zelensky discussed the attack in a call with French President Emmanuel
Macron and said France would help Ukraine strengthen its defense.
Macron was among European leaders who condemned the attack, posting on X
that Russia was “locking itself ever deeper into the logic of war and
terror.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the attacks as “cowardly”
while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen accused the Kremlin of “mocking
diplomacy.”
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington might slap tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil.
“The Russian economy will be in full collapse. And that will bring
President (Vladimir) Putin to the table,” Bessent told NBC television.
European troop proposal
At least two people were killed in a strike west of Kyiv, prosecutors said.
More than two dozen were wounded in Kyiv, according to the emergency services.
Among them was a 24-year-old pregnant woman who delivered a premature
baby shortly after the attack, with doctors fighting to save her life
and that of her baby, state TV Suspilne reported.
Two more died and dozens were wounded in overnight strikes across the east and southeast, authorities said.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry highlighted that seven horses had also been killed at an equestrian club.
“The world cannot stand aside while a terrorist state takes lives — human or animal — every single day,” it posted on X.
The barrage came after more than two dozen European countries pledged
to oversee any agreement to end the war, some of which said they were
willing to deploy troops on the ground.
Ukraine has insisted on Western-backed security guarantees to prevent
future Russian attacks, but Putin has warned that any Western troops in
Ukraine would be unacceptable and legitimate targets.
Trump has tried to find a way to end the war in recent weeks but has little to show for his efforts.
Russia has continued to claim territory in costly grinding battles and now occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine.
Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced from their homes in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.
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