Zelensky urges action as Russia pounds Ukraine with hundreds of drones

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles on Saturday, in the fourth major attack this month, targeting western cities and killing at least two people in Chernivtsi on the border with Romania.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia launched 597 drones and 26 missiles, killing two people, wounding 20, and damaging civilian infrastructure from Kharkiv and Sumy in the northeast to Lviv, Lutsk, and Chernivtsi in the west.

“The pace of Russia’s aerial strikes demands swift decisions – and it can be curbed now by sanctions,” Zelensky said on the Telegram app, issuing a fresh call for tough sanctions on Russia and more air defence for Ukraine. “This war can only be stopped through strength. We expect not just signals from our partners, but actions that will save lives.”