Zelenski, new call to Western states to speed up delivery of F-16 and Patriot

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again called on his country’s Western allies on Wednesday to “accelerate the delivery” of F-16 fighter jets and transfer more Patriot air defense systems after a deadly Russian strike in Kharkiv, the second city to size of Ukraine, informs France Presse.

“Strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses and accelerating the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine are vital missions,” he wrote in a social media post. “There is no rational justification to explain why Patriot, of which there are many in the world, still do not cover the skies of Kharkiv and other cities attacked by Russian terrorists,” Zelensky added.

Several Russian strikes on Wednesday left at least three dead and around thirty wounded, especially in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, notes France Presse, quoted by Agerpres.

In Kharkiv, which had almost one and a half million inhabitants before the war, a Russian bombardment left at least one dead and 18 injured, including four children, by hitting civilian targets, the local authorities announced, AFP recalls.

According to the first information from the General Prosecutor’s Office, two high-powered bombs, launched from an airplane, damaged residential buildings, a school and a kindergarten during the afternoon.

Editor: Liviu Cojan

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