Zelenskiy / Official

Today, for almost the entire day, starting from last night, Russia has been striking Ukraine with “shaheds.” There was a massive attack during the night – both missiles and “shaheds” – and throughout the day, new waves of drones continued. More than 550 drones of various types were launched just today, a significant number of them specifically “shaheds.” The geography of this attack is extensive. Although the majority of drones were shot down – more than 500 confirmed interceptions – unfortunately, there were still hits in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, as well as in the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Kharkiv, and Dnipro regions. Sadly, people have been killed. My condolences to the families and loved ones. As of now, more than 40 people have been reported injured, including five children. All are receiving the necessary assistance. Among Russia’s targets, energy infrastructure is primary – they continue their operation to break Ukraine and our power system. Unfortunately, ordinary homes have also been hit – the centers of our cities have been attacked, including Lviv’s historic center. The buildings of St. Andrew’s Church in Lviv caught fire. The history of this church dates back to the early 17th century. Iranian “shaheds” enhanced by Russia hit a church in Lviv – this is utterly perverse, and only the likes of Putin could take pleasure in it. In Ivano-Frankivsk, a maternity hospital was damaged. The scale of today’s attack strongly indicates that Russia has no intention of really ending this war. And if we take into account that Russia is also helping the Iranian regime to carry out strikes across the region, the conclusion becomes self-evident: without additional and strong pressure on Russia, without significant Russian losses, those in Moscow will not develop any desire to back down from the war and somehow come to terms with peace again.