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Russia began June 22 not by honoring the memory of war victims or signaling readiness to end the war, but by carrying out new unjustified killings, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the Day of Mourning and Remembrance of War Victims, UATV English reports.
“Today, as every year on June 22, Russia will speak extensively and very pompously about World War II, about one of its bloodiest chapters — Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union. For Ukraine, this period has always been a reminder of the importance of peace and of honoring the millions of innocent victims of the Second World War. It was a period that should have forever changed the attitude of any state and of the world as a whole toward human life, affirming life as the highest value. World wars would never have happened if leaders at the time had been guided by the value of human life rather than their imperial dreams,” Zelenskyy said.
The president noted that Russia’s overnight attack targeted several Ukrainian regions, involving an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 88 attack drones.
“In the Sumy region, a Russian drone killed a child, a grandmother, and a man. The mother and two other children from the same family were wounded. Their home was destroyed. It was an ordinary home, not a military target at all. In Zaporizhzhia, two people were killed overnight by Russian strikes and seven others were injured. Sadly, there were also casualties in the Odesa region. There were strikes on the Kherson, Donetsk, and Kharkiv regions as well. Russia again attacked energy infrastructure in the Chernihiv region,” he said.
Zelenskyy stressed that there is no justifiable reason for Russia’s aggression and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being driven by a centuries-old tradition of authoritarianism.
“He has the same contempt for human life. He dreams of some absurd and unnecessary empire of his own. This war, which has already been taking human lives for a fifth year, must be brought to an end. The full-scale war has already lasted longer than World War I. Perhaps Russia wants it to continue even longer than World War II. But the world certainly does not want that and can prevent it. Pressure on Putin and pressure on Russia are needed so that all this ends with a dignified peace and real, guaranteed protection of human life,” the Ukrainian president said.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Naval Forces evacuated the crew of the foreign cargo vessel VICTRESS after it was struck by a Russian drone. The vessel, sailing under the flag of Panama, caught fire, resulting in the death of a 58-year-old cook.
Read also: Painful Consequences for Russia: Zelenskyy Announces New Stage of Long-Range Strikes
