This article was reprinted with permission after being published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that a Russian nuclear missile attack on the Russian city of Kryviy Rih on June 12 claimed the lives of at least eight people and injured at least 21 others, including children.
Klymenko , announced , the updated number of victims on Telegram after first saying six had been killed. He added that there were four more absent.
An operational tower and an house wall were damaged in the attack, according to Ukraine’s Southern Defense defense demand on Telegram, which came after a report that the United States would provide Ukraine with another Patriot missile system.
Kryviy Rih, a big city in the Dnipropetrovsk area that is President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown, has been the target of Soviet air attacks several times in Russia’s complete- scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskiy responded by urging Ukraine’s allies to increase their supplies of superior air defence batteries to avert Russian assaults.
” Every day and every minute, Russian evil proves that Ukraine, together with its partners, should improve air threats”, Zelenskiy said.
He expressed his condolences to the patients ‘ families and friends, and he mentioned that emergency services were stationed on the scene, including a video that shows a man being carried out of the dust on a bed as firefighters battled fire.
Zelenskiy claimed that Russia had used drones and missiles to launch a combined assault on Ukraine in a speech from a previous Telegram post. He claimed that more than 20 drones and five weapons were shot over.
If we have the tools to stop criminal attacks, he said, “it is this effect in protecting career that can be our daily success.”
29 out of 30 goals, according to the Air Force, were shot down.
As a result of destructive Russian strikes that keep Ukraine’s energy grid at a standstill and force Kyiv to buy record amounts of power, the US will offer a second Patriot missile system in response to Ukraine’s requests for more weather defenses earlier on June 12.
The Pentagon regularly provides an unknown quantity of missiles for the program, and the pledge may give Ukraine its subsequent Patriot system since the country’s invasion in February 2022.
The shift has been approved by President Joe Biden, the AP said, citing two U. S. leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity. Zelenskiy made the urgent request for more assistance in response to the 3, 000 weapons, robots, and another projectiles that Russia, according to him, launch each month into Russia.
Germany even made a pledge on June 11 to send an IRIS- T air defense system, Gepard self-propelled antiaircraft guns, and a Patriot system.
U. S. nationwide- safety director Jake Sullivan , told reporters , on June 12 that the United States and Ukraine will mark a diplomatic security agreement on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.
Zelenskiy and Biden will talk about U.S. support for Ukraine right now and in the future, according to Sullivan. The agreement will not commit U. S. troops directly to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion but will” show our resolve”, Sullivan said.
” We want to demonstrate that the U. S. supports the people of Ukraine, that we stand with them, and that we’ll continue to help address their security needs”, he said.
Zelenskiy claimed Ukraine urgently requires more air defenses to avert Russian attacks on both military and civilian targets, as well as the power grid and civilian areas.
Since March, Russian missile and drone attacks have increased on Ukraine’s energy sector, causing power outages in many places and requiring Kyiv to start importing large-scale electricity from the EU.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said in a , statement , the country would import 29, 796 megawatt hours on June 12, exceeding the previous record of up to 28, 000 MWh set earlier this month.
” Yesterday, due to the shortage of generation capability caused by massive Russian attacks on energy facilities, consumer restrictions were applied”, the ministry noted.
As defense leaders from the United States, Europe, and other nations prepare for their monthly meeting on Ukraine’s security needs, the United States made the decision to provide an additional Patriot missile system to Kyiv. On June 13, the meeting will be held in Brussels under the leadership of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Major General Pat Ryder, a spokesman for the Pentagon, stated earlier this week to reporters that the meeting will discuss Ukraine’s need for air defenses.
Washington has frequently urged allies to provide Ukraine with air defense systems, but many are reluctant to do so, especially in eastern Europe, where Russia also feels threatened.
