“Our air defense needs to be strengthened”: Zelensky condemns new Russian attack

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that our air defense needs to be strengthened in connection with the Russian attack on Ukrainian ports.

He said this in an evening video message.

"During the whole day, maximum attention was paid to liquidation of the consequences of the attack of Russian terrorists on Odesa, communities in the region, Chornomorsk, and our ports. This was probably the biggest attempt by Russia to inflict pain on Odesa during the entire time of the full-scale war. Thanks to the air defense and all our defenders of the sky, the consequences of this strike are still less than they could have been. With each such strike, we repeatedly turn to our partners: Ukraine's air defense needs to be strengthened," the President emphasized.

According to him, this attack by terrorists proves that their target is not only Ukraine and Ukrainians. The attacked ports store about a million tons of food, which should have been delivered to consumer countries in Africa and Asia long ago.

"In the port terminal, which suffered the most from Russian terror that night, 60,000 tons of agricultural products intended for shipment to China were stored. That is, everyone is affected by the Russian terror. Everyone in the world should be interested in holding Russia accountable for terror." – emphasized Zelensky.

He thanked all soldiers who protect Ukraine from enemy attacks, rescuers, medical workers, workers of communal enterprises, local authorities, and volunteers who help people overcome the consequences of terror.

"Odesa region, Kherson region, Zhytomyr region, Kirovohrad region. Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv region, Donetsk region. Everywhere there were shelling, missile, and drone strikes. I want to thank everyone who helps save lives," the head of state said.

He also noted that this morning at a conference call, he listened to the reports of the military, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, government officials, and representatives of the president's office on regional policy. It was, in particular, about the fact that priority repair work had already begun in the communities that suffered due to the Russian attack that night.

For reference:

On the night of July 19, the Russian invaders again staged an air attack on the territory of Ukraine, using:

• Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea,
• Kh-22 cruise missiles from Tu-22m3 aircraft also from the south,
• "Shahed" type strike drones.

After midnight, air raid sirens were sounded in many areas. There were reports on the network about air defense in several regions.

During the air raid, explosions rang out in Kyiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia.

So, on the morning of July 19, air defense was working in the Kyiv region against attack drones of the occupiers during another air attack. The sounds of explosions were heard in the capital.

Russia also used a combined attack on Odesa, struck with Kalibr cruise missiles, Kh-22, and kamikaze drones.

In addition, in the Zhytomyr region, an infrastructure object and private houses were damaged due to an attack by kamikaze drones, which the Russian invaders carried out in the morning.