Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 20 civilians were killed in a "frankly brutal" Russian air strike on a village in eastern Ukraine and called on the international community to respond with an "appropriate reaction."
Zelesnkyy said the strike aimed "directly at people, ordinary citizens" hit the village of Yarova in the Donetsk region on September 9.
It came just hours after Moscow said Ukrainian forces launched drone and missile attacks on two cities in Russia-occupied parts of the Donetsk region that left two people dead.
"According to preliminary information, the number of dead is more than 20 people. There are no words..." Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post.
"The Russians continue to destroy life, but they avoid new strong sanctions, new strong strikes. The world should not remain silent. The world should not remain inactive. The United States needs a reaction. Europe needs a reaction. The G20 needs a reaction. Strong action is needed so that Russia stops bringing death."
Zelenskyy's call for action comes as the Ukraine Contact Group, an alliance of over 50 countries including all NATO member states and several non-NATO partners, gathers for a meeting in London on September 9.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks killed two people and injured 16, according to Denis Pushilin, a top Russian-installed figure in the occupied region. Ukrainian forces reportedly struck targets in Donetsk city and in Makiyivka, an industrial town north of Donetsk, Pushilin said late on September 8.
Security officials in the occupied areas said at least 20 drones were deployed in two assaults and that air defense units were activated. Russian news agencies quoted them as saying explosions were heard throughout Donetsk city.
A nine-story residential building in Makiyivka was reportedly hit by a drone, and videos on social media showed rocket strikes, including on an apparent former military surveillance systems factory in Donetsk.
Ukrainian officials have not commented on the attacks.
Russian forces control about 75 percent of the Donetsk region and are pushing to capture the rest of the area.
Andriy Yermak, a top Zelenskyy adviser, said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about strikes by the Russians against Ukrainian cities and residential buildings. He also took part in a video call with the national-security advisers of Britain, Germany, Italy, and France to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.
Yermak said Ukraine's position in confronting Russian aggression must be strengthened after a government building was struck and set on fire over the weekend as part of Russia’s largest air strike against Ukraine.
It was the first time since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022 that Russian forces struck a Ukrainian government building in Kyiv.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin understands only force, does not want to stop the war. It is necessary to continue pressure on the Russian Federation," Yermak said on Telegram.
More support for Ukraine, namely air defense and additional sanctions against Russia, was discussed with the European advisers, Yermak said.
US President Donald Trump said without elaborating over the weekend that he was ready to move to a second phase of sanctions against Russia.
The EU's top sanctions official was in Washington on September 8 with a team of experts to discuss what would be the first measures coordinated by the European Union and the United States against Russia since Trump returned to office.
Trump, who promised when he took office in January that he would end the war quickly, has repeatedly set deadlines for Moscow to agree a cease-fire or face tougher sanctions, but he has backed off the threat each time.
Senator Thom Tillis (Republican-North Carolina) said the United States needs to “up the pressure” on Putin and he believes that Ukraine deserves “fulsome support” from the United States and the rest of the Western world.
Speaking to CNN, Tillis said Putin received a red carpet greeting last month in Alaska and over the weekend in China at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and then returned to Russia and ordered the largest air assault since the beginning of the war.
“He is a liar. He is a murderer. He is responsible for the abduction and relocation of thousands of children. Rape, murder, and torture of Ukrainian women and men. It is time to stop and America needs to lead on this issue,” Tillis said.
He added that Trump “has done a number of things to demonstrate that he was being patient, but now is the time to actually put Putin in a position where he is going to fail.”
(RFE/RL/NS)
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