Zaluzhnyi says residential strikes have no military justification

Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Kingdom and former Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhniy has denounced Russia's massive assault on October 7th which resulted in at least 19 casualties, including children. He emphasized that residential areas are not military targets as they are the homes of innocent families. Zaluzhniy highlighted in a Telegram post that there is no military justification for these attacks and they cannot be considered a victory for Russian officers.

He described these attacks on cities as "Russian state terrorism" and added that Russia has the capability to produce missiles and drones, fuel their aircraft, and finance their operations. Russia conducted a large-scale combined attack on Ukraine overnight on October 7th, utilizing ballistic missiles, nearly 50 cruise missiles, and 130 attack drones.

Ukraine's Air Force successfully neutralized five ballistic missiles, 39 cruise missiles, and 117 drones. Strikes hit 18 locations, with debris from intercepted targets falling at five more. At least 19 people lost their lives across Ukraine, with four of them being children. The deadliest strike targeted Pryluky in Chernihiv Oblast, where a Russian missile destroyed a part of a five-story apartment building, resulting in 13 deaths, including four children, and over 50 injuries.

Two fatalities were reported in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district, while another office and warehouse building was destroyed in Kyiv's Podilskyi district. Kremenchuk in Poltava Oblast also suffered significant damage, with two people killed due to Russian strikes on critical infrastructure. Additional casualties were reported in Dnipro and Zaporizhzhya.