In a statement on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the intensifying Russian attacks showed that there is still insufficient international pressure on Moscow.
He said Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones and more than 30 missiles at Ukraine in the past week alone.
“These attacks are (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners — the United States, all of Europe, the entire world — has seen that Russia intends to continue the war and the killing," Zelenskyy said.
"That is why there can be no easing of pressure. All efforts must be aimed at guaranteeing security and bringing peace closer.”
Zelenskyy also said that the missiles fired into Ukraine had been launched by Russian ships stationed in the Black Sea. While U.S. negotiators announced on March 25 that both Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to a Black Sea ceasefire, the Kremlin has pushed for some Western sanctions against Russia to be lifted before such an agreement comes into force.
“This is one reason why Russia distorts diplomacy and will not agree to an unconditional (Black Sea) ceasefire: They want to retain the opportunity to strike at our cities and our ports from the sea,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “A ceasefire at sea is not only about free navigation and maritime food supplies, it is, above all, about security.”
Meanwhile, officials said that the death toll from Friday's attack on Kryvyi Rih had continued to grow, with 20 dead — including many children — and a further 75 wounded.
Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rih's military administration, declared three days of mourning, starting on April 7. He said that there was “pain in the hearts of millions of people”.
“Together we will stand. And no matter how difficult it is, we will win,” he said. “The enemy will be punished for every Ukrainian and for every mother's tear.”
A team from the U.N. Human Rights Office in Ukraine visited the impact site Saturday to document the damage and establish the identities of the nine children killed in the attack. They described it as the deadliest single verified strike harming children since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Local authorities said the Kryvyi Rih strike damaged 44 apartment buildings and 23 private houses.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday that it had carried out a high-precision missile strike with a high explosive warhead on a restaurant where a meeting with unit commanders and Western instructors was taking place.
Russian military claimed that the strike killed 85 military personnel and foreign officers and destroyed 20 vehicles. The military’s claims could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian General Staff rejected the claims.
Elsewhere, Russian troops fired 23 missiles and 109 strike and decoy drones across Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said Sunday. Thirteen missiles and 40 drones were shot down, while 53 decoy drones were jammed and did not reach their destinations, it said.
A 59-year-old man was killed Sunday morning by a Russian drone strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses had destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones, including eight over the Rostov region and two over the Kursk region.
___
Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Credit: AP
Credit: AP