Kyiv, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 4th Mar, 2024) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday called for the world to help Kyiv defeat “Russian evil” as the death toll from a Russian drone strike on Odesa rose to 11, including four children.
A Russian drone hit an apartment block in the southern port city early on Saturday morning, partially destroying several floors and leaving more than a dozen people under the rubble.
The attack killed at last four children, including two babies less than a year old, according to statements by Zelensky and the regional governor.
“Mark, who was not even three years old, Yelyzaveta, eight months old, and Timofey, four months old,” Zelensky said, naming the youngest victims of the strike in a post on Telegram.
“Ukrainian children are Russia’s military targets,” he said.
Local officials said the toll could rise further as there were still people unaccounted for more than 36 hours after the strike.
Zelensky had pleaded Saturday with Kyiv’s Western allies to supply more air defence systems as Russia continues to pound Ukraine with drones, missiles and artillery fire in the war’s third year.
Ukraine is currently on the back foot with Russia having made recent front-line battlefield gains.
Zelensky said 215 emergency responders had taken part in an ongoing search and rescue operation in Odesa.
As delays to a crucial $60 billion aid package from the United States have left Kyiv facing ammunition shortages, Zelensky said the attack showed the importance of supporting Ukraine.
“We must win this war,” he said Sunday.
“Every Russian loss at the front is our country’s response to Russian terror. The world must respond to every manifestation of Russian evil and repel Russia’s actions.”
#Zelensky #Vows #Ukrainian #Victory #Death #Toll #Odesa #Strike #Hits