(StraightNews.org) – A Russian strike on a town in southern Ukraine killed seven civilians, including children, according to Ukrainian authorities. Dozens more were wounded. The city, Vilniansk, is in the Zaporizhzhia region, which Russian troops bombarded with missiles on June 29. Local officials released photos of black craters in the ground and bodies lying on streets covered by blankets. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his appeal to allies for more military equipment, specifically long-range rockets and air defense capabilities.
Local governor Ivan Fedorov confirmed that three children were among the dead and announced a day of mourning in the town. On social media, Mr. Fedorov furthermore described damage to residential buildings, businesses, and “critical infrastructure.” The town has a population of just over 14,000 people and is roughly 20 miles north of the Zaporizhzhia front line.
Russian and Ukrainian troops are engaged in heavy fighting along the 600-mile front, and Moscow has increased its air strikes near the area.
Meanwhile, in the Donetsk region, eight people died, and more than a dozen were injured amid heavy shelling on the same day. Vadym Filashkin, a local politician, said the Russian attacks are now almost daily.
President Zelenskyy has been pleading for air support for some months, and at a summit in Switzerland in June, he warned allies that the Kremlin had destroyed much of his country’s energy infrastructure with targeted air strikes. Zelenskyy spoke alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who promised the President more German aid. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius assured the Ukrainian leader that Germany would provide 100 Patriot air defense missiles in partnership with Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
Scholz also called for a business case to global companies to persuade them to invest in Ukraine’s post-war economy.
Mr. Zelenskyy subsequently traveled to Berlin to address German lawmakers and plead for assistance. The populist-right party Alternative fur Deutschland boycotted Zelenskyy’s speech, saying Germans were already paying enough for foreign aid and refugee benefits.
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