Zelenskyy: Russia must be forced toward diplomacy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces carried out a new wave of overnight attacks across Ukraine, hitting residential areas, energy infrastructure, and transport facilities in multiple regions.

According to the Ukrainian head of state, strikes in Odesa damaged residential buildings, injuring five people and setting two houses on fire. In Kryvyi Rih, one person was injured in a drone strike. Attacks in the Kharkiv region targeted railway infrastructure and substations, leaving thousands of families without electricity. Shelling was also reported in the Sumy region and the Zaporizhzhia region.

Writing on his Telegram channel, Zelenskyy said Russia continued to strike Ukraine’s energy system and civilian infrastructure.

“Russia continues to attack our energy sector, critical infrastructure and civilian facilities. Over this night, 210 drone strikes were carried out, about 140 of them were ‘Shaheds’. It is precisely such daily strikes that show that more pressure must be exerted on Russia. It is necessary to weaken the aggressor so that Europe becomes safer. The continuation of the sanctions policy is essential, as is the synchronisation of all our sanctions with partners. Our long-range sanctions are bringing the Russians back to reality. And this is absolutely fair and, most importantly, limits the ability of the Russian Federation to prolong this war. If Russia does not want to move to diplomacy voluntarily, it must be forced to do so. And I am grateful to everyone who helps us in this,” he wrote.

By Tamilla Hasanova