Russia launched dozens of glide bombs across Ukraine over the last 24 hours, Ukraine’s military has reported in its latest update, as the casualty toll from an attack on civilian-populated Zaporizhzhia reached 126.
The Ukrainian general staff said Russia had launched 62 glide bomb attacks on Wednesday. The munitions, nicknamed “building-destroyers”, can carry warheads weighing up to 3 tonnes and blow holes deeper than bomb shelters.
It comes as authorities in southeastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region raised the casualty toll from Wednesday’s glide bomb attack to 126, more than double estimates from last night.
The Russian bomb struck the city in the middle of the afternoon while civilians were out in the street. Prospectors said the debris from the bomb hit a tram and a bus with passengers inside.
At least 13 people have been killed. Prosecutors increased the injury toll from 63 to 113 people on Thursday morning.
“There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, urging Ukraine’s Western allies to step up pressure on Russia.
Zelensky says allies’ deployment in Ukraine one of best ways to bring peace closer
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the potential deployment of partners’ contingent in Ukraine “is one of the best instruments” to force Russia into peace.
“Let’s be more practical in making it possible,” he said in an address to allies at the Ramstein military base in Germany.
French president Emmanuel Macron remains the only European leader to have spoken openly about the possibility of Paris’ troops being sent to Ukraine.
Ukraine defence meeting begins
A meeting of Ukraine’s top allies has begun today to discuss future support for Kyiv.
It is the 25th meeting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, involving around 50 countries discussing how best to help Kyiv continue to defend itself against Moscow.
“We are grateful to our friends from about 50 partner countries for their unwavering support and commitment to the values of freedom,” the Ukrainian defence ministry wrote in a statement.
Polish officials earlier this week expressed concern that this could be the final meeting, which have been held at the Ramstein air base in Germany, given the return of Donald Trump to the White House off the back of promises to end the war.
Russian drones cross into Belarusian airspace
Four Russian drones fired at Ukraine have misfired into Belarusian airspace, a monitor has reported.
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
As Ukraine reports that Russia has fired dozens of glide bombs over the last 24 hours, some of which killed 13 and wounded 113 more in one attack in southeastern Zaporizhzhia, below is an explainer on what these munitions are.
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Winged explosives weighing up to 1,500 kilograms – and nicknamed the ‘building destroyer’ – have had a devastating impact wherever they have been used, writes Tom Watling. Kyiv is battling them as best it can but needs Western allies to step up and provide more weapons, air defences and ammunition
Russian firefighters were on Thursday still battling a fire reported to have broken out at an oil depot near an air base for strategic bombers in the Volga region, more than 24 hours after a Ukrainian drone attack.
“It takes a certain amount of time to complete the burnout process. The situation is under control,” regional governor Roman Busargin said in a Telegram post.
A state of emergency was in effect in Engels, a city of 200,000 people some 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, after the blaze spread and two firefighters died trying to put it out.
Busargin said the fire had broken out at an industrial site, which he did not name, after a mass drone attack. The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that it had set fire to an oil depot that serves an air base for Russian nuclear-capable bombers.
Engels is hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine. In December 2022, three Russian air force personnel were killed when a drone was shot down there.
A Russian guided bomb attack on Wednesday killed at least 13 people and injured 113 in Ukraine‘s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, authorities said.
The blast left bodies strewn across a road alongside injured residents. Public transport was also damaged in the strike.
Prosecutors increased the injury toll from 63 to 113 people on Thursday morning. Rescue work had been completed at the site of the attack the evening before.
High-rise apartment blocks were damaged along with an industrial facility and other infrastructure, Ukraine‘s prosecutor general office said on Telegram. The debris hit a tram and a bus with passengers inside, it added.
Russian troops had used two guided bombs to hit a residential area, the regional governor Ivan Fedorov told reporters.
Ten of the 60 people in the hospital after the attack remain in serious condition, Fedorov said, adding that Thursday would be an official day of mourning.
Ukraine’s military says it shot down 46 drones launched by Russia overnight
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that Russia launched a total of 70 drones at the country overnight.
Of those drones, Ukraine‘s air force shot down 46, while 24 “imitator drones” did not reach their targets, the air force added.
The attack damaged private residences in three Ukrainian regions.
Photos: Zelensky meets Finnish minister in Kyiv
Source: independent.co.uk