Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the interception of all Russian missiles launched Tuesday at Ukraine, including six Kinzhal supersonic missiles, a “historic result,” a report denied by Moscow.
“We had been told that these missiles are guaranteed to die because they are impossible to shoot down,” said Zelensky, who addressed the summit of heads of state and government of the Council of Europe (CoE), which began on Tuesday in Reykjavik, by video conference.
Russia launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at the same time to stop the work of Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses, Zelensky explained, assuring that, despite this, these systems managed to “save all the lives” that were threatened.
The Ukrainian head of state thanked the Armed Forces of his country and allies that support Kiev with weapons and training of its soldiers.
“A year ago we were unable to shoot down most of the terrorist missiles, especially ballistic ones. And I ask, if we can do this now, is there anything we can’t do if we are united and determined to save lives?” he stressed in his speech.
However, Zelensky stressed that “much remains to be done” to shoot down 100% attack missiles and become the norm, noting that Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defenses need to be further strengthened.
Moscow on Tuesday denied kyiv’s accusations about the actions of its air defenses.
“Russia has not released as many Kinzhals as [os ucranianos] they say they shot it down,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency.
Shoigu pointed out that kyiv gave up an amount of interceptions three times higher than reality.
The Kinzhal missile (“dagger” in Russian) is one of the weapons identified as “invincible” by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as its speed allows it to outrun most air defense systems.
Ukraine had revealed the downing of a Russian missile for the first time in early May, thanks to the powerful American Patriot anti-aircraft system, delivered to kyiv in April.
During his speech before the CoE, Zelensky welcomed the creation of a registry of damages caused by Russia, an initiative of this body that is expected to be endorsed by the leaders present at the summit.
For the ruler, this initiative is closer to establishing “a compensation mechanism that will show the world that aggression is not worth even thinking about.”
Zelensky also assured that he is “one hundred percent sure” that the end result of the international efforts will be the creation of an international tribunal before which those responsible for the Russian invasion will be held accountable.
The military offensive launched on February 24, 2022 by Russia in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14.7 million people -6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.2 million to European countries- from according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
At least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and housing.
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the wider international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing Russia from the political point of view and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war, which today entered its day 447, 8,836 civilian deaths and 14,985 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
