Russian forces launched a devastating overnight rocket attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, resulting in 13 injuries, including two children. In response, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy passionately urged European leaders to prioritize the continent’s safety by establishing an advanced, comprehensive air defense umbrella.
Over three and a half years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the conflict shows no signs of abating. Russian forces continue their relentless strikes on civilian areas across Ukraine, while their army presses forward along the roughly 1,000-kilometer front line.
Prospects for a peace settlement remain distant, despite months of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts. Previous ultimatums and deadlines set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage with peace proposals have passed without any discernible progress.
President Zelenskyy revealed on Telegram that in just the past two weeks, Russia has unleashed over 3,500 drones, more than 2,500 powerful glide bombs, and nearly 200 missiles against various targets within Ukraine.
Ukrainian defenses face a significant challenge from Russian glide bombs, which are typically deployed by jets at high altitude, well behind the front lines, and from swarms of drones. While not highly accurate, these glide bombs create massive craters, and Ukraine currently lacks an effective countermeasure against them.
The rising tensions with Moscow were further exacerbated when Russian drones recently crossed into Polish territory, prompting NATO to strengthen its European air defense capabilities.
“Now is the moment to enact a collective protection for our European skies through a multi-layered air defense system,” Zelenskyy stated on Telegram. “All the necessary technologies are already available. We need the commitment and investment, strong actions and decisive choices from all our partners.” Meanwhile, in Zaporizhzhia, the recent Russian bombardment severely impacted over 20 apartment buildings, igniting numerous fires, as confirmed by regional head Ivan Fedorov on national television.
Fedorov expressed the city’s ongoing struggle: “We had not yet fully recovered from the enemy strikes on August 30th. We are still in the process of repairing those buildings and replacing windows, but now the enemy has unfortunately created even more work for our dedicated municipal workers.”