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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Russia deliberately carried out its large-scale attack on Ukraine only after Russian President Vladimir Putin had congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on his birthday, UATV English reports.
“He, as always, cynically congratulated the President of the United States and then launched a massive strike against Ukraine. I do not think it is a coincidence that for several days they were not only stockpiling missiles—we could see they had the necessary capabilities. They waited so as not to carry out the attack before congratulating President Trump,” Zelenskyy said.
According to the Ukrainian leader, had the strike taken place beforehand, Trump and his team would likely have immediately questioned Russia about the attack.
Asked what he would say to Putin after the assault, Zelenskyy replied:
“We will have our say.”
On June 14, Zelenskyy held a phone conversation with Trump. Putin also spoke by phone with the U.S. president on the same day.
The overnight Russian attack on Kyiv initially left four people dead and 25 injured, including two children. The death toll later rose to five.
The attack caused significant damage across the capital, including a strike on the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, where a fire broke out on the roof of the Dormition Cathedral. According to the Interior Ministry, the fire was later extinguished.
The attack also damaged an academy, a kindergarten, more than 20 residential buildings, and the premises of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine in central Kyiv.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, air defenses intercepted 632 aerial targets during the massive assault.
In Kharkiv, a repeated Russian strike killed four rescuers from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and Oleksii Dorozhkin, an employee of the city’s Department of Emergency Situations.
The fallen rescuers were identified as Dmytro Boiko, Danylo Tishchenko, Serhii Makovetskyi, and Vadym Zinchenko.
