Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that these strikes “cannot be accidental,” in a post on X. “The Russians know exactly what they’re hitting,” he said. “It is critically important not to leave this Russian strike on civilians, on the city — every such strike — without a response from the world,” the president said in another post.
Several European leaders condemned the attack. “Russia continues to destroy Ukraine, no interest in peace,” EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said in a post on X. She called the images from Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, “tragic and inhumane.”
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said that “this is why we need to accelerate support for Ukraine,” in a post on X. Jan Lipavský, Czechia’s foreign minister, called the attack “barbarism.”
Zelenskyy, expressed gratitude for support from European countries as well as Japan, the United Kingdom and Switzerland following the attack, but said he found the response from American Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink “surprisingly disappointing.”
“Such a strong country, such a strong people, and yet such a weak reaction. They are afraid to even say the word ‘Russian’ when speaking about the missile that murdered children,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
