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Zelenskyy to Address G7 Leaders After Russian Missile Attack on Kyiv, Other
Cities

by VOA News

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to address the leaders
   of the Group of Seven nations during a virtual meeting Tuesday that
   follows a series of deadly Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's capital
   and other cities located across the country.

   Hours before the meeting, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported
   multiple fresh missile strikes in Zaporizhzhia that killed at least one
   person.

   Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv and other areas. The mayor of Lviv said
   a missile strike there disrupted power and water services.

   Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office,
   told reporters Tuesday that Russia's strikes "may have violated the
   principles of the conduct of hostilities under international
   humanitarian law,"

   "Intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian
   objects, that is objects which are not military objectives, amounts to
   a war crime," she said.

   Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia is targeting
   energy facilities by design.

   "These are war crimes planned well in advance and aimed at creating
   unbearable conditions for civilians -- Russia's deliberate strategy
   since months," Kuleba tweeted.

   Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine "cannot be intimidated," and rather
   than instill fear, Russia's attacks made "the whole world take notice."

   "We will do everything to strengthen our armed forces," Zelenskyy said.
   "We will make the battlefield more painful for the enemy."

   The Ukrainian leader tweeted after a phone call with U.S. President Joe
   Biden that air defense was his top priority, and that he was looking to
   the United States for leadership on a "tough stance" from the G-7 as it
   considers its response to Russia's attacks.

   Biden and Western allies were quick to condemn the attacks and vowed to
   continue to send military aid to Ukraine's forces to help fend off
   Moscow's invasion, now in its eighth month.

   A White House statement said Biden told Zelenskyy the United States
   would provide advanced air defense systems.

   Biden said in a statement earlier Monday that Russia's latest missile
   launches "once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Russian
   President Vladimir Putin's illegal war on the Ukrainian people.

   "These attacks only further reinforce our commitment to stand with the
   people of Ukraine for as long as it takes," he said. "Alongside our
   allies and partners, we will continue to impose costs on Russia for its
   aggression, hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and
   war crimes, and provide the support necessary for Ukrainian forces to
   defend their country and their freedom."

   Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told reporters
   that more Western military aid for Ukraine risked further escalation
   and a possible clash between Russia and NATO.

   Ukraine's State Emergencies Service said Monday's attacks killed at
   least 19 people. The Ukrainian military said the barrage included 84
   cruise missiles and 24 drones. Most of the attacks on Kyiv hit the
   center of the city, including parks and tourist sites.

   Putin told a meeting of his security council Monday that the strikes
   were in response to an attack Saturday on a bridge linking Russia to
   Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Moscow illegally seized in 2014.

   "It is obvious that the Ukrainian secret services ordered, organized
   and carried out the terrorist attack aimed at destroying Russia's
   critical civilian infrastructure," Putin said.

   Ukraine has strongly suggested its security agents carried out the
   truck bomb attack on the bridge but has not publicly claimed
   responsibility. The bridge has been a major supply route for Russian
   operations in southern Ukraine.

   Putin said any continued "terrorist attacks" by Ukraine on Russia would
   be met with a "tough and proportionate" response.

   Kyiv was last attacked in June. Once under pressure from advancing
   Russian forces, Kyiv had been relatively calm for months as fighting
   raged in eastern and southern Ukraine.

   Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence
   France-Presse and Reuters.