Russian attack kills 16 in Kiev; Zelenski asks for more help

"Interceptors for Patriot [anti-aircraft] systems have not yet been replaced. Unfortunately, the world's response to such attacks is not always adequate," President Volodimir Zelensky complained on Telegram.

The call for more help has been a constant in recent weeks, since the leader failed to convince Donald Trump to provide more missiles capable of countering ballistic threats. In addition to the American's tendency to favor Putin, stocks of interceptors are low due to the war in Iran. According to Zelenski, every day without missiles for the Patriots "costs lives."

This time, the Ukrainian Air Force did not reveal how many ballistic and hypersonic missiles were deployed, only saying that dozens of them were not intercepted. Against slower weapons, he said he had a more effective defense: he shot down 145 of 168 drones and 39 of 44 cruise missiles.

Scenes of the capital's residents seeking refuge in the city's metro were repeated, and large fires were reported at logistics company centers, emulating Kiev's campaign against Russian online retail giant Wildberries.

There were also bombings against the region of Odessa, Ukraine's main port, which has less sophisticated air defenses than those of the capital. At least two drones used in the attack went astray and crashed in neighboring countries, Romania and Moldova, without serious consequences.

The Ukrainians also launched drones against Russia, hitting oil installations in two regions, but with no major damage, deaths or injuries reported.

The high civilian mortality is one of the hallmarks of the current phase of the war, which has recorded the most non-combatant deaths since March 2022, the first full month of the Russian invasion. If in January 7.1 people died per day in the accounts of an American open data aggregator, in July there were 21.8, 85% of them in Ukraine.

On X, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, responded to Zelenski. He said the bloc's members were working to provide air defense assistance "as the most urgent of priorities."

The problem is that European stocks of interceptors for the Patriot system are as critical as American ones, according to available reports. And batteries manufactured on the continent, even if they were given to Kiev, are not as effective against ballistic missiles.

Military pressure adds to the political crisis involving Zelensky's government. Before the attacks, Kiev registered yet another protest against the dismissal of Mikhailo Fedorov from the Ministry of Defense, which took place in July.

On Wednesday (19), Parliament confirmed the name of the popular politician's replacement, Iehvenni Khmara. The day before, Fedorov broke the relative silence he had been maintaining and criticized the Zelensky government, demanding the holding of presidential elections even with the impediment of martial law.

Zelensky's term expires in May 2024 and, when it comes to internal dissent, he is often relentless. Before Fedorov, he had dismissed another figure who threatened him politically two years ago, the then head of the Armed Forces, Valeri Zalujni.

The turmoil is tempered by continuing corruption scandals involving his government. On Wednesday, the president had to dismiss the deputy head of his personal office, accused of involvement in money laundering, the same reason for the fall of his superior and Zelensky's right-hand man at the beginning of the year.

On the frozen diplomatic front, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Izvestia newspaper that she had not received the proposal that Zelensky said he had sent through a mediator to reopen negotiations.

At the same time, she suggested that Russia is ready to receive Trump's envoys for the conflict, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, at any time. Involved with his war in the Middle East, the American has put the conflict in Ukraine aside since the end of February.

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