The toll of the Russian attack rises to 10 as Zelensky blames the delay on air defenses
Rescue workers in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa recovered the bodies of a mother and a baby from the rubble of an apartment building on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 10 in a Russian attack two days ago. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said delays in the country’s allies in providing air defense had contributed to the deaths.
The indictment by Mr. Zelenskiy appeared to reflect frustration that Ukraine’s ability to resist Moscow’s military campaign and protect its own citizens has been undermined by the inability of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a military aid package of many billions of dollars.
The drone hit the building on Friday night and emergency workers have been sifting through the rubble since then. Odessa, a Black Sea port city, was a key target of Moscow’s large-scale invasion two years ago and in recent months Russian forces have regularly attacked the city with drone strikes, often launched from Crimea. However, this weekend’s attack has sparked outrage among Ukrainians.
Rescuers said the mother and baby were found together. “The mother tried to protect her 8-month-old child,” said a statement from the state emergency service on the social messaging service Telegram. “They were found in a tight embrace.”
A three-year-old girl was among eight people injured, Mr. Zelensky said in a speech last night, saying Ukrainian citizens are more vulnerable because the country’s armed forces lack air defenses that could shoot down the Shahed drones. that Iran supplied to Moscow.
“The world has enough missile defense systems, systems to protect against Shahed drones and missiles. And delaying the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and missile defense systems to protect our people unfortunately leads to such losses,” he said. He did not specifically refer to U.S. aid, but the country is by far Ukraine’s largest military donor.
“When lives are lost and partners simply play internal political games or disputes that limit our defenses, it is impossible to understand. It is unacceptable,” Mr Zelensky said.
According to estimates, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed in the past two years UN data, the vast majority by explosions rather than gunfire. Air raid alerts have become a fact of life for many Ukrainians, and the country has become dependent on the air defense of the United States and other NATO allies.
But a US bill that includes $60.1 billion in military aid for the government in Kiev, including for air defense, has been languishing in the House of Representatives for months, stalled by opposition from some Republicans and former President Donald J. Trump, who is probably the Republican. candidate for president.
Since the start of the large-scale invasion, Mr. Zelensky has repeatedly urged the country’s allies for more weapons, often using strong language that has sometimes irritated some leaders in NATO countries. He has argued that defending Ukraine against Moscow is crucial for European security as a whole and for democratic values more broadly.
Ukrainian military commanders have also said that a lack of ammunition and artillery has made it harder to resist Russian advances on the battlefield, not least around the town of Avdiivka in the eastern Donetsk region, which fell last month of Russian troops.
Ukraine’s counter-offensive, which began last June, failed to achieve its objectives and since then Moscow has gradually regained the initiative in the war, seizing small swaths of territory amid heavy fighting. Military experts say Ukraine faces a difficult year on the battlefield, especially if a lack of military aid forces the country to severely ration ammunition.