Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Tuesday claimed that the Russian bombardment of Kyiv was deliberately timed during the G7 summit.
The minister said that this was Russia rejecting the ceasefire and the leaders’ meeting to find solutions to end the conflict and cynically striking Ukraine’s capital while pretending to have peace talks.
According to the minister, the attack was a signal of “total disrespect to the United States and other partners who have called for an end to the killing.”
He posted on X, stating:
“Putin’s goal is very simple: make the G7 leaders appear weak. Only strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong.”
After the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X saying that such attacks were pure terrorism and that the “the whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists”.
He also said that Putin was only doing this because “he can afford to continue the war”.
He also said that Kyiv had been in contact with all partners at every level to ensure an appropriate response.
“It is the terrorists who must feel the pain, not innocent peaceful people,” explained Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko on Telegram, clarifying that 27 locations were hit.
Zelenskyy was set to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the G7 summit to persuade him to extend support to Ukraine. However, Trump made an early exit, cutting his hopes short.
Earlier today, the US president had even suggested that there would have been no war if the G7 members hadn’t expelled Vladimir Putin from the organisation in 2014.
At the summit, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had said that Britain and other G7 members were going to slap more tariffs on Russia to get them on the negotiating table for a ceasefire. Trump had declined to join in, saying he would wait until Europe did it first.
In an overnight Russian missile and drone offensive on Kyiv, Moscow killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more, according to Ukrainian officials.
A nine-storey residential building was demolished, destroying apartments and killing people while they slept. The attack is considered one of the largest since Russia’s military operation began in early 2022. Zelenskyy called it one of the most horrific attacks on the country’s capital as Russia had fired more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine.
These attacks follow two rounds of failed attempts at making peace talks and ending the conflict, which is now in its fourth year. Russia has been hitting civilian areas since the beginning of the conflict, despite claiming that it only attacks military targets. However, the bombardment on Tuesday came as a surprise, since attacks on Kyiv are not common.
Russian attacks on Kyiv are a deliberate insult to US President Donald Trump: Ukraine minister
