Message – warning of a second night of hell in a row, the Ukrainian president addressed his citizens with a message, claiming that Russian forces may launch a new mass attack against it on Tuesday night.
“According to our intelligence services, another large-scale attack may occur tonight,” Zelensky said in his nightly address, noting among other things: “Please, I strongly appeal to you to pay attention to warnings of airstrikes.”
What came before
The warning comes as rescue crews and relevant agencies spent the day today trying to deal with the aftermath of the massive missile and drone attack that killed at least 22 people in various parts of Ukraine overnight yesterday, including two children, in one of Moscow’s most widespread attacks in recent months.
In the city of Dnipro, local authorities said 16 people were killed, including an eight-year-old boy and three women who were pulled from the rubble of apartment buildings collapsed by the strikes. In Kyiv, another six people lost their lives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the targets of the attacks were civilian infrastructure and energy facilities across the country.
Russia’s side and threats
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the strikes were a response to previous Ukrainian attacks, noting that “the objectives of the operation were fully achieved.”
The Kremlin also said the attacks were part of “systematic strikes” it has announced, following accusations that Kiev carried out a deadly attack on a student dormitory in occupied eastern Ukraine in late May.
“This practice will continue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, arguing that the attacks were targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure.
Zelensky had also warned yesterday in his evening speech of a possible “massive blow” and had called on citizens to pay special attention to air raid warnings.
