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The cruise missile hit the nine-story corner block during what
the Ukrainian air force said was Russia’s biggest barrage of the
country since its all-out invasion.
The assault mostly targeted the Ukrainian capital, where 48
people were wounded, including two children, Zelenskyy said.
Russia hammered Ukraine with large-scale aerial attacks in the
days following a May 9-11 ceasefire that U.S. President Donald
Trump said he asked Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir
Putin to observe. Fighting went on over those 72 hours, although
reportedly on a lesser scale.
This week’s attacks ran counter to recent suggestions from Trump
and Putin that the war, now in its fifth year, is close to
ending.
Zelenskyy said Thursday that Moscow had launched more than 1,560
drones against Ukrainian population centers since Wednesday. In
all, some 180 sites across the country were damaged, including
more than 50 residential buildings, he said.
Previously, the biggest Russian drone attack was from the
evening of March 23 to the evening of March 24 when Moscow’s
forces fired nearly 1,000 drones and missiles at Ukraine.
The Ukrainian capital observed an official day of mourning
Friday in remembrance of those killed.
The cruise missile that hit the apartment building was built in
the second quarter of this year, Zelenskyy said, apparently
after Ukrainian experts analyzed the wreckage.
“This means Russia is still importing the components, resources,
and equipment necessary for missile production in circumvention
of global sanctions,” Zelenskyy said in another post on X late
Thursday.
“Stopping Russia’s sanctions evasion schemes must be a genuine
priority for all our partners,” he said.
Russia and Ukraine have continued to occasionally swap prisoners
of war, and 205 from each country returned home Friday.
Zelenskyy said it was the first phase of a planned
1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap. Some of the Ukrainians released
had been held in Russian captivity since 2022, he said, and had
fought in some of the war’s fiercest battles.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the exchange and thanked the
United Arab Emirates for helping broker it.
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