1 Indian Among 12 Killed in Russian Strikes on Ukraine: President Zelenskyy

Kyiv: One Indian citizen was among 12 people killed after Russia launched a massive aerial assault across Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Overall, 12 people were killed, among them an Indian citizen, and dozens more were injured in the attack. My condolences to everyone who has lost family and loved ones," he said in a post on X.

Detailing the attacks, he wrote on the social media platform, “In many cities and communities, work to address the aftermath of the Russian attack has been ongoing since last night - nearly 350 first responders are involved in Kyiv and the region alone. A significant number of jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles were used in the attack. Unfortunately, residential buildings and civilian infrastructure have been damaged. In Boryspil, an ordinary five-story residential building was damaged. Fifty people were evacuated. All necessary services are on the ground. Businesses were also struck. Overall, 4 people were killed and 13 injured in the city. My condolences.”

The Ukrainian President further said, “Since last evening, guided aerial bomb and drone strikes have continued against Odesa and the region. Thousands of families were left without electricity, and work is ongoing to restore power to people as quickly as possible. A border crossing with Romania was deliberately damaged, as was export infrastructure. In Kyiv, a strike on a railway depot killed 7 people. The Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, and Dnipro regions also came under attack.”

The Ukrainian President accused the Russian side of using strikes to cause as much civilian destruction as possible. "Russia always plans its strikes specifically to cause as much destruction to people's lives as possible, and it succeeds only when air defence capabilities are insufficient. I am grateful to everyone helping Ukraine receive anti-ballistic capabilities through PURL and bilateral supplies, and it is very important that these deliveries increase this fall. The number of victims of Russian terror directly hinges on every new package of assistance. I thank everyone who is helping make Ukraine more resilient," he said.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had accused Russian President Putin of wanting more war even though a majority of Russians were against it. "For now, unfortunately, all the intel - both ours and our partners' - and all the signals from Russia indicate that the Russian leader personally wants more war. Even now, when the absolute majority of his own society would agree to stop the war along the line of contact," he had said.

On Monday, Zelenskyy spoke to US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and discussed the possible dates for the US President's visit to Ukraine. Zelenskyy also informed the American envoys of the situation on the front lines, claiming that Russia's gains had been sparse and at the cost of huge losses. 

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