Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked allies for more anti-aircraft weapons after a wave of Russian drone strikes on Kyiv. To ensure the protection of his country’s airspace and “reduce Russian terrorists to zero” opportunities, Ukraine needs many more defense systems and additional missiles for them, Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation on Monday evening. This is not only in the interest of Ukraine. “The fewer opportunities Russia has for terror, the sooner this war will end.”
Numerous Russian drones loaded with explosives attacked the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning. Loud explosions shook Kyiv, buildings caught fire, people took refuge in shelters. A drone tore a large hole in the facade of a residential building, the authorities said. They reported at least four dead.
“Russia has no chance on the battlefield and is trying to compensate for its military defeats with terror,” Zelenskyy said in the evening. “Why this terror? To put pressure on us, on Europe, on the whole world.”
Six people were killed and 19 others injured when a Russian military plane crashed over the city of Yeysk on the Azov Sea near Ukraine, according to new information from the Emergencies Ministry. As a spokesman for the ministry announced on Monday evening, two children were also injured. The authorities had previously given the number of four fatalities and 25 injuries.
According to the Russian authorities, the Sukhoi-34 machine crashed into the yard of a residential complex via Yeysk, whereupon the aircraft’s fuel caught fire. The fire had spread to a residential building and covered five of nine floors with an area of about 2000 square meters, the Russian news agencies quoted the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the pilots of the fighter plane were able to save themselves with the ejection seat. Accordingly, they had started on a training flight. A technical problem caused one of the machine’s engines to catch fire when it took off.
Yeysk is located in the north of the Russian Krasnodar region on the Azov Sea. Across the bay lies the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was destroyed by bombing and a long siege in the first months of the Russian offensive.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on his country’s soldiers to take more Russian prisoners. These could then be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners on the Russian side. “The more Russian prisoners we have, the faster we can free our heroes,” said Zelenskyy. “Every Ukrainian soldier and commander at the front should keep this in mind.”
Russia and Ukraine have completed another prisoner swap. The Russian side released 108 Ukrainian women, said the pro-Russian separatist in Donzek, Denis Puschilin on Monday. Two other prisoners chose to stay in Russia. In return, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, 100 Russians were released, including 72 seafarers whose ships had been arrested in February.
