EU president Ursula von der Leyen said Russia was pursuing a “deliberate strategy of terror” as the European Commission announced it had disbursed €1.24 billion ($1.4 billion) to Ukraine for drones, drone interceptors, drone ammunition and missiles.“Russia is pursuing a deliberate strategy of terror. To protect people and infrastructure, Europe is stepping up. Others must step up their support too,” von der Leyen said in a statement.The funding is part of the €90 billion loan facility previously promised by the European Union. The announcement came after Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv and around a dozen other Ukrainian regions overnight into Wednesday, killing at least 19 civilians, including four children, and injuring around 60, according to Ukrainian officials.
Russian strikes kill civilians across Ukraine
Ukraine had anticipated the attack, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning a day earlier that intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a “massive” strike.A Russian strike destroyed an apartment block in Pryluky, in the northern Chernihiv region, killing 13 people, including four children, and injuring about 50, Interior Minister Ihor Vyhivskyi said.Deaths were also reported in Kyiv and three other Ukrainian cities. In Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region, two people were killed and seven injured, according to regional officials, while rescue operations continued.“The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” Zelenskyy said on social media.Ukraine is searching worldwide for available Patriot missiles, which are in short supply due to the Iran war. Zelenskyy said Russian ballistic missiles remain the country’s biggest air defence challenge.“Russian ballistic missiles remain the greatest challenge. And air defense packages for us right now are a vital necessity,” Zelenskyy said.Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces carried out a massive overnight strike targeting Ukrainian facilities involved in the production and storage of missiles and drones. It also said port and ship-repair facilities in the southern Odesa region and ships carrying cargo for the Ukrainian military were hit.
EU prepares fresh sanctions
The latest Russian attacks came as EU envoys prepared to approve about 1,650 new designations under the bloc’s sanctions regime against Russia. Most of the targets are linked to the country’s military-industrial complex.The package, proposed by the EU’s foreign policy arm, the EEAS, would be the single largest set of designations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Once approved by ambassadors, the listings will be sent to EU foreign ministers next Monday for final adoption.Ukraine has also continued long-range strikes inside Russia. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces targeted two oil facilities and a training ground in Russia’s Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions using long-range drones and missiles.Russia and Ukraine remain engaged in a long-range aerial war while their armies are largely deadlocked on the battlefield, more than four and a half years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.US-led peace efforts have so far failed to bring short-term relief, with the possibility of low-level technical talks still under discussion. Russian President Vladimir Putin is continuing the invasion, while Western analysts say Moscow is betting that continued pressure will weaken Ukraine and eventually reduce support from its Western allies.