The death toll from Russian raids that hit Kiev this evening is at least 13, local authorities have announced. At least 86 people were injured, as reported by the head of the city’s military administration Tymur Tkachenko and the mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Russia fired dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles at Kiev in the attack, which also saw massive drone strikes in several regions. The attack destroyed residential buildings, damaged a hotel in the center of the capital and set fire to multi-storey buildings.
Zelensky asks the US for a license to produce the Patriots
Following the massive Russian attack on Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the United States for licenses to produce Patriot air defense missiles. «Ukraine’s air defense supplies are a top and critical priority. We are also very much counting on a US decision regarding Patriot licensing and other forms of cooperation,” Zelensky said in a Facebook post.
Kallas – Kremlin: question and answer
«Words of condemnation alone will not stop the attacks on Kiev. Only continued military support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Moscow can do this. Today I will propose to sanction additional entities that support the Russian military-industrial complex in response to the attacks. The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed. We will continue to increase the cost of the operation until Russia understands that it cannot win.” EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas writes this on X. «Russia will continue to increase pressure on the Kiev regime to achieve its objectives», Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responds promptly on the need to introduce new sanctions to increase pressure on Moscow. This was reported by the Tass agency.
Bankova Street, Kiev. A few days ago, a meeting took place in the State Residence of Ukraine that could change the internal balance of a country that has been at war for over 4 years. Facing each other, Volodymyr Zelensky and General Valerii Zaluzhny, now Kiev’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, spoke at length, and not only about the effects of Keir Starmer’s resignation. Zaluzhny, one of the symbols of the Ukrainian resistance, has in fact communicated to Zelensky his desire to run for future presidential elections.
When? Already next autumn, if the Ukrainian president believes that the conditions for going to the polls are there. And, for some time now, it seems that Zelensky is really thinking about it. The elections in Ukraine are a dossier with which it is easy to get burned and which has often been exploited by Vladimir Putin. Zelensky’s mandate expired in the spring of 2024 but martial law has always postponed the presidential elections.
The head of state, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda, this time spoke with the former commander of the Ukrainian Forces about a window of opportunity for the vote. With one objective, however: to prevent Ukrainian society from splitting, playing into the tsar’s hands.
And Zaluzhny’s entry into the field would bring with it this risk. The general, when asked about his candidacy, however replied directly: “Yes, I will do it”. The meeting, the Kiev newspaper reported, ended with a handshake. Although approval for him has started to grow again, the elections – and above all Zaluzhny’s challenge – represent a risk for Zelensky’s encore. At the same time the Ukrainian leader is aware that, at a certain point, he will have to return to the polls. Ultimately it is the same accession process to the EU to ask for it. And Zelensky has no intention of backing down an inch on joining the Union.
At Dublin Castle, with Prime Minister Michael Martin and European Council President Antonio Costa at his side, the Ukrainian leader called on the Irish presidency to open the five remaining clusters this year.
“We can do it very soon, we are ready. Antonio, what do you think?”, Zelensky asked the former Portuguese prime minister, sitting in the audience. Martin, for his part, assured that support for Kiev will be one of the guiding stars of the next semester. The homage paid by the Irish government – with the Ukrainian flag hoisted like the Irish one and the blue-starred one – leaves no room for doubt. With an appendix: the case of the Irish Aughinish Alumina plant controlled by the Russian Rusal. Zelensky warned that there are European companies still feeding the Kremlin’s war machine.
Martin assured him that the open investigation into the plant is almost complete and that he is in close contact with the Commission about it. Under a typically Irish sky, the ministers in Dublin listed the priorities of the presidency, alternating between English and Gaelic, which has recently also become a working language of the EU. They underlined “the strength of unity” that Europe needs, the objective of reaching an agreement on the community budget, the iron will to increase the pressure on Moscow to force it to negotiate. The topic was also at the center of the meeting between Martin, Zelensky and Costa.
The Ukrainian leader wants the EU to be involved in the negotiations, the Union – after the opening of the channel with the Kremlin desired by Costa himself – will face the issue of the ‘negotiator’ in the coming months. On points such as frozen Russian assets or sanctions, it could be the EU that sits at the table, leaving security issues to the Willing, in a format that has not yet been decided. The risk, however, is that thinking about future negotiations or the polls distracts attention from a present still full of bombs. Kiev continues to increase the range and scope of its attacks, while preparing for Moscow’s bloody responses. Zelensky, in the afternoon, explained that he had to leave Dublin slightly early. A new massive night attack could hit the country. “Go to the shelters”, was Zelensky’s invitation to the population before greeting the reporters.