Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of carrying out deadly drone attacks in civilian areas within their territories. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is gearing up for a busy week of diplomatic engagements at the UN General Assembly in New York, with the Security Council set to address the ongoing conflict that has lasted over three years.
In an overnight assault, at least seven Russian aircraft bombed the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, resulting in the death of three individuals and injuring two more, as reported by regional administration head Ivan Fedorov. The attack, which targeted residential buildings, shopping centers, a parking lot, and critical infrastructure, commenced at 4:20 a.m. local time and lasted approximately 40 minutes. Fedorov emphasized that none of the locations had any military connection.
The Ukrainian air force claimed to have intercepted 132 out of 141 offensive and decoy drones launched by Russian forces overnight. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, in a social media update detailing the attacks and the subsequent emergency response, called for strong sanctions and political pressure against Russia from global leaders convening in New York City.
Zelenskyy stressed the urgency for concrete action to prevent further violence and underscored the necessity for significant pressure on Russia to uphold international law. Despite his efforts to push for peace by proposing a ceasefire and a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, progress towards ending the conflict remains elusive.
Zelenskyy is slated to participate in the UN General Assembly’s annual high-level meeting to seek international support in halting Russia’s aggression. He expressed plans to engage in nearly 20 meetings with leaders from various countries worldwide, including a scheduled meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The past week has witnessed a significant escalation in hostilities, with Russia reportedly deploying numerous drones, glide bombs, and missiles against Ukraine. Zelenskyy highlighted the international nature of the conflict, citing the discovery of foreign components in the weapons used by Russia.
On the other side, Russia countered the accusations by alleging that Ukrainian drones had targeted civilian areas in Crimea and the Belgorod region, resulting in casualties. The Russian Defence Ministry denied the presence of military facilities in the attacked areas. International concerns have grown over the potential spillover of the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders, with incidents such as Russian drones landing in Poland and fighter jets breaching Estonian airspace.
Leaders from European nations have condemned Russia’s actions, with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics warning that Russia’s provocations were testing NATO’s response and seeking to weaken Western support for Ukraine. Amid escalating tensions, Russia’s Defence Ministry refuted claims of violating Estonian airspace, labeling them as baseless provocations aimed at stirring up conflict.
The situation remains fluid, with diplomatic efforts underway to address the crisis and prevent further escalation.