Ukraine: At Least Six Dead, Scores Injured From Russian Strikes On Zelenskyy’s Hometown

At least six people were killed by two Russian missiles that hit the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine, hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian officials said Monday.

Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak announced a day of mourning in the city, saying that among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her mother. Seventy-five others were wounded, including six children ages 4 to 17 years. 

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the missiles hit an apartment building and a university building. 

At the damaged residential building, nearly 150 of the building’s residents managed to get out by themselves, and 30 were helped by rescuers, the governor said. 

Zelenskyy shared video of damaged buildings and rescue efforts on social media.

“Regions of Ukraine are being shelled by the occupiers, who continue to terrorize peaceful cities and people,” he said. 

“In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing. But this terror will not frighten us or break us. We are working and saving our people,” Zelenskyy said. 

“This is already a kind of genocidal everyday reality … Kryvyi Rih,” Zelenskyy’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“International law will never work if the aggressor does not see a real power behind it. The power begins with closing the Ukrainian skies with missile defense and air defense systems,” he added.

Ukraine drone attacks

Three Ukrainian drones targeted the city of Moscow on Sunday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, which called the strikes an “attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime.” 

This was the fourth such strike on Russia’s capital region this month and the third this week, revealing Moscow’s vulnerability as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags into its 18th month.

Two of the drones struck the capital’s financial district. A skyscraper was damaged, and a security guard there was injured, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials. Russia’s Ria-Novosti news agency reported the building’s tenants included several government agencies.

There was no extensive damage, but the attack on the Moskva-Citi business district, several miles west of the Kremlin, has caused nervousness among employers and employees there, who felt the war’s reach to Russia’s nerve center.

Tech giant Yandex, which has offices around the Russian capital including in Moskva-Citi, asked employees to vacate offices at night when strikes on the Russian capital have tended to occur.

Flights were temporarily suspended at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport, and the airspace over Moscow and outlying regions was temporarily closed.

Ukrainian officials did not acknowledge the attacks, but Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, “Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia — to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.”

A Ukrainian air force spokesman also did not claim responsibility but said the Russian people were reaping the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Peace summit 

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for an end to the “irrational” war in Ukraine and urged the upcoming peace talks in the Middle East to include representation from both Ukraine and Russia.

Saudi Arabia will host a summit reportedly scheduled to be held in Jeddah over the weekend to discuss implementation of Zelenskyy’s peace plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Lopez Obrador said Mexico would only participate in the peace talks if both sides were present.

The Mexican president has tried to keep his country neutral in the war, though his government has backed some major U.N. resolutions against Russia. Mexico has refused to send arms to Ukraine and has not imposed sanctions against Russia.

The Kremlin said Monday, it would “follow” the meeting but did not currently see conditions for peace talks with Kyiv.

Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office, said Sunday the summit would bring together national security advisers for talks that follow an initial round held in Copenhagen in June. Yermak said Ukraine is “working hard to involve as many partners as possible from the West and the Global South.”

He did not confirm a date for the summit, but The Wall Street Journal reported it would take place August 5-6 and involve 30 countries. The Associated Press cited officials saying the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa would participate.

“The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world,” Yermak said in a statement. “We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land.”