After Russia showered down cruise missiles in its latest escalation of its unravelling invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will ask the leaders of the G7 group of nations to swiftly supply Ukraine with air defence weapons.
On Tuesday, Ukrainians awoke to the sound of new air raid sirens, with portions of the country without power. Officials reported 19 people were killed in cruise missile strikes across the country on Monday, the deadliest air raids since the war began.
President Vladimir Putin, under political pressure to escalate the fight after losing ground since the beginning of September, said he ordered the strikes in retaliation for an explosion that damaged Russia’s bridge to annexed Crimea.
Ukraine and its allies denounced Russia’s strikes, which primarily targeted civil infrastructure including power plants. Missiles were also launched into parks, tourist attractions, and busy rush-hour streets.
US President Joe Biden and other Group of Seven leaders will meet digitally later Tuesday to discuss what more they can do to help Ukraine and to listen to Zelenskiy, who has stated that air defence systems are his ‘number one priority.’ More air defences have already been pledged by Biden.
The broad streets of Kyiv’s capital were mostly vacant after air raid sirens rang out just as morning rush hour began – the same time Russian missiles struck the day before. Residents sought refuge deep down in the Metro, where trains were still running.
Viktoriya Moshkivski, 35, and her husband were among hundreds of people waiting for the all-clear in the Zolotye Vorota station, one of the deepest, near the city park where a missile blasted a crater adjacent to a playground on Monday.
‘We live on the other side of the street, and the siren startled them. While a result, we brought them down here,’ Moshkiviski spoke as her kids, Timur, 5, and Rinat, 3, sat beside her on a sleeping bag, the younger of whom was playing with a King Kong action figure.
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