‘Fires in shopping mall, residential building’: Zelensky says Russia attacked Ukraine regions with 200 strike drones

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said that Russia continues to attack regions of Ukraine with strike drones and decoy drones due to which shopping malls and a residential building suffered damage.

Zelensky said that Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Chernihiv regions came under fire.

“Starting in the evening, Russia attacked regions of Ukraine with over two hundred strike drones and decoy drones. Guided aerial bombs were also used,” said Zelensky in a post on X sharing a video of officials dousing fires.

The Ukrainian President stated that as a result of the massive strikes by the occupiers on the Odesa region, fires broke out in a shopping mall and several stores, and a residential building was damaged.

“Three children were injured. In Zaporizhzhia, six people were injured by Russian aerial bombs, including a 4-year-old child. Ordinary houses and vehicles were damaged. In these and all other affected regions, assistance is being provided to the victims. Emergency services are on the scene and working,” he added.

Zelensky also demanded tougher sanctions and stronger defense support for the country, which will paves the way for Russia’s prolongation of the war.

“We expect real pressure on Russia from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. This is what will enable diplomacy to work.”

Meanwhile, Russia also accused Ukraine of blowing up a major Russian gas pumping and measuring station in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border in what it called “an act of terrorism.”

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said in a statement it had opened a criminal case over the incident which it said had done "significant damage" to the facility near the town of Sudzha, reported Reuters.

In a related devlopment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin's order for Russian forces to temporarily halt their attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine remains in force.