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Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials say the country's Independence Day was marked by Russian forces opening fire on targets across Ukraine, killing and wounding civilians.
The Ukrainian president said Wednesday that a Russian missile strike on a train station in central Ukraine killed at least 22 and wounded 50. Ukraine's military reported the same day multiple Russian air and missile strikes across the country. Calling the wave of attacks a reminder of the severe circumstances Ukraine has endured for six months, Zelensky renewed his calls for international pressure against Russia.
Speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting, Zelensky said a Russian missile struck a railway station in Chaplyne, a small town about 74 miles from the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
"Rescuers are working," Zelensky said in the speech. "But, unfortunately, the number of dead may still increase. This is how we live every day. This is how Russia prepared for this meeting of the U.N. Security Council."
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post that Russian forces shelled three villages in the Sumy administrative district, which shares a border with Russia and has reportedly seen previous assaults.
The northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and surrounding areas were also shelled by Russian forces and another 20 villages were attacked with barrel and rocket artillery, according to the Facebook post.
Elsewhere, the Russian military launched airstrikes and attempted to make gains in cities in the Donetsk administrative district, which has seen some of the conflict's most intense fighting in recent months.
"Air and missile strikes on military and civilian targets in Ukraine continue," the Armed Forces added. "Today is a day especially rich in air alarms."
The reported attack on the train station could be the most deadly since April when, according to Ukrainian authorities, a Russian missile killed at least 50 civilians and injured dozens more who were fleeing via the Kramatorsk railway station.
The announcements by Ukrainian leaders came the same day the country celebrated its 31st anniversary of declaring independence from the Soviet Union and six months after Russia launched a military operation to topple the government in Kyiv.
Zelensky told the U.N. Security Council that he urged other countries to take an interest in the conflict, saying Russia's military operations near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, risked neighboring regions being exposed to radiation pollution.
He also said if Russia's military was not stopped in Ukraine, it would inevitably invade other countries.
"Our independence is your security," Zelensky said.
Russia's ambassador to the U.N., Vasily Nebenzya, condemned Zelensky being allowed to address the council via video link, saying it violated protocols, state-run Russian news agency TASS reported.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
About the writer
Jake Thomas is a Newsweek night reporter based in Portland, Oregon. His focus is U.S. national politics, crime and public ... Read more