World News

Russia-Ukraine War update: Volodymyr Zelenskyy begs to west after Odesa attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again requested aid from partners, saying the weapons delay is costing lives.

 

Following a deadly Russian strike on Odesa, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine urged allies to deliver defence systems and weapons as soon as possible.

 

According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine's defence is hindered by "internal political games or disputes" in partner nations.  

 

Alexander Dobrindt, a German opposition lawmaker, has demanded that Chancellor Olaf Scholz respond to questions from the parliament regarding the leaked Bundeswehr discussions regarding Ukraine.

 

Four German officers are heard talking for 38 minutes on an audio recording that Russia released, discussing the possibility of Ukrainian forces using German-made Taurus missiles in combat.

 

Russia claims to have shot down 38 Ukrainian drones over Crimea

 

Early on Sunday, Russia announced that several UAVs were involved in a drone strike that was intercepted over Crimea.

 

In a post on the messaging app Telegram, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that air defence systems had shot down 38 drones over occupied Crimea that Kyiv had allegedly launched.

 

It was unclear if there had been any casualties or damage.

 

Social media posts about explosions in the port of Feodosia had been made in Russian and Ukrainian.

 

After annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia strengthened the peninsula in the years that followed, establishing several new air and naval bases near the location of its long-standing Black Sea fleet.

 

Since the 2022 invasion, that fleet has launched long-range attacks on targets in Ukraine from its headquarters in the closed port city of Sevastopol.

 

In the area, Kyiv has intensified air and naval assaults on Russian targets, notably hitting Russian ships and naval installations.

 

Russia must attend the negotiations in Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow agree — Russian Foreign Ministry

 

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Beijing and Moscow agree that Russia must be present to discuss a resolution to the Ukrainian conflict.

 

Following discussions in Moscow between Chinese special representative for Eurasian affairs Li Hui and Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin, the ministry issued the statement.

 

I will also travel to Germany, Poland, and Ukraine.

 

"A very engaged and thorough exchange of views took place on the Ukrainian crisis," said the ministry.

 

"It was stated that any discussion of a political and diplomatic settlement is impossible without the participation of Russia and taking into account its interests in the security sphere," it continued.

 

China has consistently criticised Western sanctions on Moscow and called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

 

German opposition lawmakers demand an investigation into leaked talks with the Bundeswehr

 

Alexander Dobrindt, a prominent member of the opposition conservative CSU party based in Bavaria, has demanded that Chancellor Olaf Scholz appear before parliament regarding the disclosure of private discussions between senior Bundeswehr officers regarding the conflict in Ukraine.

 

He added that the formation of an inquiry committee "cannot be ruled out."

 

Der Spiegel, a news magazine, quoted Dobrindt as saying that it was "strange" that security talks were "obviously being overheard by the Russians."

 

He speculated that Scholz might have used a "misrepresentation" of the facts to support his opposition to transferring Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

 

Scholz has said that supplying Kyiv with long-range missiles is out of the question because doing so might force Germany to join the conflict.

 

Following the attack in Odesa, Zelenskyy calls for faster arms deliveries

 

In his weekly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with Western nations to arm and arm Kyiv.

 

His speech was given in response to multiple fatalities caused by Russian drone debris striking an apartment block in Odesa, a port city in southern Ukraine.

 

 

Odesa, Ukraine's damaged apartment block following a drone strike

 

"Such attacks by Shahid drones have no military sense and cannot have any," he stated. "This is terrorism aimed solely at destroying lives, solely at intimidating people."

 

"What can be done to combat terrorism is known to the world. The globe has sufficient missile defence systems to fend off Shahid drones and missiles," he continued.

 

"And delaying the supply of weapons to Ukraine, missile defence systems to protect our people leads, unfortunately, to such losses, to the fact that the list of children whose lives Russia takes away constantly grows."

 

"Ukraine asked for nothing more than necessary to protect lives," he stated. It is impossible to comprehend when partners merely engage in internal political games or arguments that weaken our defence and result in the loss of lives. It's not appropriate. And everyone will remember this; it will be hard to forget."

 

Zelenskyy's remarks coincide with the ongoing impasse in the US House of Representatives over a comprehensive US aid package for Ukraine.