Zelenskyy Calls For “Dismantling of Russian Terrorist Capacities” – In a televised address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Russia’s latest missile strike campaign in Ukraine, which saw a majority of rockets intercepted in the air.
Russia’s Missile War Against Ukraine
Zelenskyy told the people of Ukraine that a most of the 70 missiles launched at Ukrainian targets on Monday were shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems.
Among the missiles launched from Russian positions were Kalibr and Kh-101 cruise missiles.
“A report on the day. The main result – 70 Russian missiles were launched, most of them were shot down. Kalibr, Kh-101, etc,” Zelenskyy wrote, adding that he was grateful to the air commands of eastern, southern, and central Ukraine for their efforts.
According to reports, 38 Kh-101 and Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles were fired at Ukraine from the Caspian Sea and Southern Russia.
An additional 22 sea-launched Kalibrs were also fired at Ukraine from the Black Sea, along with nine other air-launched missiles.
The Ukrainian president also expressed gratitude to Western allies for providing air defense systems that allowed his military to stop the incoming missiles.
He warned that more systems are necessary to ensure “complete security to our sky.”
While most of the missiles were intercepted, the Ukrainian president also confirmed that some strikes hit their intended targets and that people died as a result.
“Unfortunately, there are victims. As of this time, there are four people killed by Russian strikes today. My condolences to families and friends,” Zelenskyy said.
Russian “Terror” Causes Energy Chaos
Monday’s strikes also caused further damage to Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which Zelenskyy confirmed once again impacted neighboring Moldova.
The Ukrainian president described how “Russian terror again affects neighboring states,” describing electricity supply interruptions in Moldova.
“And this once again proves that Russia’s ability to carry out such massive terrorist attacks is a threat not only to Ukraine, but also to our entire region.”
The Ukrainian president also recognized that the strikes occurred on the anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum, an agreement that saw Ukraine agree to relinquish its nuclear arsenal and transfer its nuclear warheads to Russia, where they were decommissioned. The agreement allowed Ukraine to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Zelenskyy said that the document, and Russia’s eventual decision to invasion Ukraine regardless of the concessions made by Kyiv, shows that “simply signing something with these terrorists will not bring peace.”
The president’s comments cement Kyiv’s position on negotiating with Russia – effectively destroying any hope from Western governments that Russia and Ukraine can bring the conflict to an end through negotiations.
“Therefore a principled continuation of the existing policy of conscientious states of the world is necessary: it is only the dismantling of Russian terrorist capacities, liberation of all our territories and holding the murderers to account that will bring peace. I believe we will come to this,” Zelenskyy said.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor.
