Russia’s foreign ministry said the alleged drone attack “must not go unresponsive” and indicated that Kiev had no intention of bringing an end to the 15-month war at the negotiating table.
Russia has increasingly accused the United States of being a direct participant in the war, intent on causing a “strategic defeat” to Moscow.Washington denied this, saying it was Arm Kiev to defend itself and reclaim illegally seized land.
Pedestrians watch Kiev’s air defenses attempt to shoot down a drone in Kiev.Credit: Associated Press
Kyiv is targeted
Russia launched two dozen combat drones into Ukraine early Thursday, struck Kiev for the third time in four days and hit a university campus in the Black Sea city of Odessa, where Ukraine is expected to launch a counteroffensive to retake the occupied land.
No casualties were reported.
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The Kiev city government said Russia may have launched a ballistic missile and a drone, but both were shot down. Given the difficulty of shooting down ballistic missiles, this may indicate that Ukraine uses advanced air defense systems provided by the West.
Air defenses shot down a total of 18 of the 24 kamikaze drones in the pre-dawn strike, officials said. The Southern Military Command said 12 of the 15 drones fired at Odessa were shot down, but three hit the university campus.
DTEK and the energy ministry said shelling in the Donetsk region damaged a power station owned by power company DTEK Energo, but no casualties were reported.
The death toll from Russian shelling in and around Kherson in southern Ukraine rose to 23 on Wednesday, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Russia denies targeting Ukrainian civilians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Dutch King Willem-Alexander (right) talk at a conference in The Hague.Credit: Associated Press
“The Full Power of Justice”
“The aggressor must feel the full force of justice. This is our historic responsibility,” Zelensky said in a speech in The Hague.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on suspicion of deporting Ukrainian children.
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Russia, which is not a member of the ICC and rejects its jurisdiction, denies it committed atrocities during “special military operations” in Ukraine, saying it was necessary to protect its own security from hostile Western powers.
Zelensky’s host Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also said Russia must be held accountable for any war crimes and pledged the Netherlands’ “unwavering” support for Kiev, saying there was “no taboo” when it comes to military aid.
Zelensky has vowed to drive all invading Russian troops back to the borders set in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.He said on Thursday that the entire Ukrainian society ready to counterattackwhich he said would succeed against what he called an “underpowered” Russia.
There are no peace talks to end the war, which has devastated Ukrainian towns, killed thousands and displaced millions.
Reuters
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