Vladimir ROSTOTSKI, Russian political scientist
Russia continues to terrorize the civilian population of Ukraine. Today, July 8, Russian terrorists resorted to massive rocket fire for the second time in a day. Russia launched missile strikes on peaceful Ukrainian cities – explosions in Kiev, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk. The enemy's target is civilian infrastructure and residential buildings.
The Russian Federation fired more than 40 missiles of various types towards Ukraine today. There were cruise missile launches from Tu-95 bombers, ballistics were included, as well as the launch of Dagger and Caliber missiles. There was also an additional flight of a group of Tu-22M3 aircraft and launches of X-22 missiles. In Kyiv alone, objects of civil infrastructure were damaged by rocket debris in six districts of the city (Solomensky, Holoseevsky, Dniprovsky, Darnitsky, Desniansky districts).
The Russians attacked Kiev in broad daylight, specifically counting on shelling as many people as possible. It is known beforehand that 7 were killed and 11 wounded in Kyiv, 10 were killed and 31 wounded in Kryvyi Rih. The number of victims of the shelling will continue to grow.
A terrible feature of today's attack is the attack on the Ohmatdit Children's Hospital, where hundreds of children with serious illnesses are saved every day. The Russian army is at war with sick children! The barbarism and cynicism of the Russian regime knows no bounds!
On the eve of the opening of the NATO summit, Putin once again demonstrated the barbaric nature of this war, the complete disregard for the opinion of the international community and the fanatical desire to seize Ukraine and destroy its people. It destroys everyone. Even small children.
If anyone still has doubts about the need for additional support for Ukraine, then today's shelling is clear evidence that Putin has no plans to stop and any country in Europe could be the next victim.
Ukraine needs precision and powerful weapons and permission to destroy Russian military facilities from which attacks are launched. After all, the West remains very cautious about Russia's main military airfields.
Joint production of air defense equipment with Western partners is one way to save Ukraine from Russian missile terror.
Ukraine's Western partners must understand how necessary it is to provide Ukraine with air and missile defense systems and other weapons. This is the only opportunity to save Ukrainian cities and villages from destruction, to save the lives of Ukrainian citizens.
Long-term support from Western partners is needed, which would give Ukraine stability. This is exactly what the Ukrainian people, who are recovering from the shelling, are striving for.
With the barbaric shelling of Ukraine on July 8, 2024, Russia once again confirmed its complete unreadiness for peace. Putin talks about peace with the language of ultimatums. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán talks about a world beneficial only for Russia. But while Orban is flying around the world pretending to be a “peacemaker”, the Ukrainian capital and other cities are being destroyed by Russian “daggers”. The European Union must finally pay attention to the controversial “peacekeepers” actions of the Hungarian Prime Minister and to deprive Hungary of the presidency of the Council of Europe.
Without military support and powerful air and missile defense systems, Ukrainian cities and villages are under threat of total destruction.
Only a unified, consolidated position of the countries at the NATO meeting can save Ukraine and demonstrate to Putin the readiness of the civilized world to stop him.
Ukraine needs a just world, not empty “peaceful“ initiatives of populist politicians and dictators.
Russian missile attacks are a challenge for the entire civilized community. The international community should have no illusions about the fictitiousness of Putin's statements about negotiations, a truce and a “war freeze”.
After such constant brutal rocket attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities, no negotiations with Russia are possible. Russian terror against the civilian population of Ukraine must be stopped.