Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a sharp response following a massive overnight Russian bombardment that resulted in a Shahed kamikaze drone striking a Chinese commercial vessel anchored in the Black Sea.
The maritime incident occurred during a relentless six-hour assault on Monday, May 18, which targeted eight regions across Ukraine. While the brunt of the combined missile and drone strike pounded the Dnipropetrovsk region, the southern port city of Odesa also came under heavy fire. According to Ukrainian officials, one of the explosive drones struck a civilian cargo ship flying the Chinese flag, News.Az reports, citing RBC-Ukraine.
"Russians could not have failed to know what kind of vessel was at sea," Zelenskyy stated during his address, emphasizing that Moscow deliberately targeted an area vital to international shipping.
The multi-wave barrage utilized a devastating mix of Iskander-M ballistic missiles, Iskander-K cruise missiles, and over 500 attack drones. In Dnipro, a direct ballistic missile strike tore through a residential neighborhood, damaging high-rise apartment buildings, a university, a religious institution, and local businesses, leaving 18 civilians wounded. In Odesa, falling debris and direct drone impacts completely leveled a home in the Prymorskyi district and wounded several residents, including an 11-year-old boy.
The escalating deployment of advanced ballistic weaponry prompted Zelenskyy to renew his urgent appeals for international military aid, while issuing a broader security warning to neighboring Western nations.
"Russia relies on ballistic missiles to strike people, and that is why we in Europe must do everything so that there is reliable protection against this," Zelenskyy urged. "Europe must have its own anti-ballistic systems and be self-sufficient against these threats." The head of state concluded by revealing that Ukrainian diplomats will spend the upcoming week working alongside international partners to urgently secure advanced air defense batteries capable of neutralizing ballistic threats.
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