‘He’s Demonstrating Disregard for Peace Efforts’: Ukraine Says Russia Timed Deadly Kyiv Strikes to Undermine G7 Summit
Ukraine said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin deliberately launched a deadly wave of drone and missile attacks on Kyiv on Tuesday to coincide with the Group of Seven summit in Canada, in what officials called a calculated move to project weakness among Western leaders.
At least 22 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the overnight assault on Ukraine’s capital, which targeted 27 districts and left residential buildings in ruins. More than 2,000 emergency workers have been deployed to assist with rescue and recovery efforts, authorities said.
“We are convinced that Putin deliberately ordered this shelling during the G7 summit to make the leaders appear weak,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “He is deliberately demonstrating his complete disregard for international peace efforts, especially those of the United States.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling the attack “one of the most horrifying on Kyiv,” arrived at the summit Tuesday at the mountain resort of Kananaskis, hours after US President Donald Trump left the gathering early amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. A planned meeting between Trump and Zelensky did not take place.
Ukrainian officials are pressing G7 leaders to take bolder steps, including tightening sanctions, lowering the price cap on Russian oil, accelerating the delivery of air defense systems, and using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s military needs.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said more than 440 drones and 32 missiles were fired at cities across the country, with two people killed in Odesa in addition to the 22 confirmed dead in Kyiv.
Klymenko noted that death toll figures are still being updated, as forensic teams use mobile DNA labs to identify partial remains recovered from the rubble.
In response to the attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared Wednesday a day of mourning. Flags will be flown at half-staff, and public entertainment events have been canceled.
Source: Alisa Orlova