At least 15 people were killed in Russian overnight attacks on Kyiv overnight with nearly 100 wounded in what was named as “one of the most horrific attacks” on the capital.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that “such attacks are pure terrorism”.
Posting before his participation in a G7 summit in Canada, he said: “The whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilised society responds to terrorists.”
“Putin does this solely because he can afford to continue the war,” accusing the Russian president for wanting “the war to go on”.
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The attacks damaged residential buildings, educational institutions and critical infrastructure facilities, minister Ihor Klymenko said via the Telegram messaging app.
A direct strike on a nine-story apartment building caused an entire section to collapse and the search was under way to find survivors in the debris.
Ukraine called on Tuesday for an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting following the deadly strike, a Ukrainian official told the state-run Ukrinform news agency.
A US citizen was among those kille during the overnight air attack on Ukraine’s capital, the city’s mayor said early on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Russian air defence units intercepted and destroyed 147 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including the Moscow region, overnight, Russia said on Tuesday.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said earlier on Tuesday that two Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow had been repelled.
Tuesday’s attack was the latest in a series of Russian air assaults that have intensified in recent weeks. Russia now regularly launches hundreds of drones at night in an effort to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences, before firing missiles that are more difficult to intercept.
The attack came as world leaders gathered at the Group of 7 summit in Canada, where the Ukrainian president pushed for tougher sanctions on Russia and increased aid for his battered country.
Mr Zelenskiy had also been expected to meet Donald Trump on the sidelines of the meeting, but the American leader left the summit late Monday and returned to Washington.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said on the final day of the summit that support for Ukraine will be “unwavering” until peace is achieved and confirmed that Canada will offer an additional C$2 billion (€1.27 billion) in military aid for Ukraine and another C$2.3 billion in the form of loans.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that Russia’s latest attack during the summit sent signal of disrespect to the US and other partners who have called for an end to the war.
“Putin’s goal is very simple: make the G7 leaders appear weak. Only strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong,” Andrii Sybiha said on X.
Elsewhere, Russia’s top presidential security adviser, Sergei Shoigu, is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after arriving in Pyongyang “on special instructions” from president Vladimir Putin, Russia’s Tass news agency reported on Tuesday.
Mr Shoigu will hold talks with the North Korean “leadership on implementing agreements” reached during his visit earlier in June under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by the two leaders last year, Tass reported.
The visit by Mr Shoigu is the third in nearly three months as the two countries rapidly advanced diplomatic and security ties in the past two years, including North Korea’s military support for Russia in the war against Ukraine. – Reuters
