Selenskyj again demands arms deliveries after seven people die in Russian attack on Zaporizhia region

CNN
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At least seven people, including children, were killed and at least 31 injured when Russia launched a missile attack on the city of Vilna in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said.

“Today is a day of mourning in the Zaporizhia region for the victims of the enemy attack on Vilna,” said Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration, on Sunday. “There is unspeakable pain.”

There are three children among the dead and eight among the injured, Fedorov said.

The attack damaged important infrastructure as well as a retail store and residential buildings, he said on Saturday. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said trade pavilions, houses and vehicles also caught fire as a result.

A local resident who witnessed the attack told the National Police: “It was the weekend, everyone was taking a break… it was not even late, it was not yet dark, when a rocket hit.”

She continued: “Children died, children were injured. And adults too. For no reason. The children were having a graduation, they were graduating from school. They were planning their future.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the attack and called on Ukraine to provide more long-range weapons. He said Ukraine must “strike with real long-range capabilities and increase the number of its modern air defense systems.”

“I am grateful to all partners who are helping. And the decisions we need must be accelerated. Any delay in decisions in this war means loss of life,” he wrote on Telegram.

On the battlefield, Russia has recently achieved slow but steady tactical successes on several fronts in Ukraine. In May, Russia also launched a surprise cross-border attack.

In the Donetsk region, Russia is advancing towards Chasiv Yar and trying to capture the strategically important mountain town.

During its offensive, Russia exploited Ukraine’s vulnerabilities, including a lack of manpower and delays in supplies from the West.

While Zelensky reiterates his calls for more long-range weapons, these developments have once again highlighted Ukraine’s dependence on ammunition and weapons from the United States and other allies.

There are concerns about how long US aid will continue if former US President Donald Trump is re-elected in November.

US President Joe Biden struggled during Thursday’s debate, while Trump questioned continued funding for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko told CNN that Trump’s comments on the war in Ukraine were “worrying.”

“We are very worried because we more or less understand what a Biden presidency means for Ukraine, but we don’t really know what a Trump presidency means for Ukraine. It can be very good, it can be very bad. We just don’t know. And that is definitely worrying,” Goncharenko said.