Zelenskyy accuses Russia of terrorising Ukraine as fresh strikes kill eight
Russian drone strikes on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine killed eight people on Sunday, prompting President Zelenskyy to accuse Moscow of terrorism and urge the US to fully enforce sanctions legislation against Russia.
Russian drones struck Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions on Sunday, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was showing no sign of easing the war despite assurances given to the US. Writing on X, Zelenskyy accused Moscow of terrorising Ukrainians through attacks that included setting fire to a market near Kyiv and hitting kindergartens, schools, homes and communications facilities.
He said such a choice of targets amounts to terrorism anywhere in the world, arguing Russia has no military purpose in these strikes beyond breaking Ukrainian society and maximizing harm. Zelenskyy added that if Russia were genuinely preparing steps toward de-escalation, as it claims to American negotiators, this wave of terror would not be occurring. He called on the US to fully implement the Lindsey Graham Act, legislation enabling broad sanctions intended to pressure Russia into ending the war.
His remarks came ahead of the UN General Assembly's conclusion in New York on Monday. Over the weekend, Russia's and Germany's foreign ministers met on the assembly's sidelines, where Russia's top diplomat rejected Germany's calls to step back from what it called a dangerous escalation path toward Europe. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is counting on effective decisions from other nations and stronger pressure from G7 and G20 partners so Russia recognizes that manipulating diplomatic signals will not let it keep buying time for war and terror. He said new sanctions targeting financial networks, supply chains and entities helping produce Russian weapons must take effect by October.
Sunday's strikes killed eight people across Ukraine, according to authorities, while Zelenskyy said Russia had launched roughly 3,900 drones, bombs and missiles at Ukraine over the past week. Prosecutors said a drone strike on a market in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, on Kyiv's western outskirts, killed two people and injured about ten. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said nine people, including a child, were injured in the capital. A strike also hit the Kyiv headquarters of Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator, though no casualties were reported there.
Separately, South Korea demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of disclosing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea and then falsely denying that a confidentiality agreement had existed between the two sides.
