US President Joe Biden on Friday reacted to Russia's largest aerial assault in Ukraine, calling it a "stark reminder" to the world that Russian President Vladimir Putin's objective remains unchanged after nearly two years of the devastating war and accused him of trying to "obliterate Ukraine and subjugate its people."
This comes after Russia launched a massive barrage of 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets in what officials called the biggest aerial attack in the 22-month war on Friday, killing at least 31 civilians and injuring over 120 others. The Ukrainian air force intercepted 87 of the missiles and 27 of the Shahed-type drones overnight, Ukraine's military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.
"Strikes reportedly hit a maternity hospital, a shopping mall, and residential areas—killing innocent people and injuring dozens more. It is a stark reminder to the world that, after nearly two years of this devastating war, Putin’s objective remains unchanged. He seeks to obliterate Ukraine and subjugate its people. He must be stopped," said Biden in a statement issued by the White House.
Biden on US support for Ukraine
The US President also said that the air defence systems provided to Ukraine by the United States and its allies and partners managed to successfully intercept and destroy many of the missiles and drones, and expressed pride that American assistance was able to support Ukraine during the crisis.
He also reiterated his appeal to the US Congress to take urgent action by sending weapons and vital air defence systems to Ukraine to protect its people without delay. US support for Ukraine has come under complications as Republicans have voiced the money to be used to tackle the influx of illegal migrants from the border with Mexico.
"The stakes of this fight extend far beyond Ukraine. They affect the entirety of the NATO Alliance, the security of Europe, and the future of the Transatlantic relationship. Putin has not just attempted to destroy Ukraine; he has threatened some of our NATO Allies as well. When dictators and autocrats are allowed to run roughshod in Europe, the risk rises that the United States gets pulled in directly," he said.
The US on Thursday announced a package of $250 million in arms and equipment to Ukraine in this year's final aid, as top officials continued to urge lawmakers to approve another $61 billion in aid to the war-torn country. The White House has warned that without the additional appropriation US aid will run out by the end of the year for Ukraine's fight to retake territory occupied by Russian forces.
Russian attacks on Ukraine
Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk described the barrage as the "most massive aerial attack" on his official Telegram since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. The previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, Air Force records show.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Kremlin's forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russia “apparently launched everything they have,” except for submarine-launched Kalibr missiles.
The aerial attack began on Thursday and hit six cities including Ukraine's capital Kyiv along with other areas across the country. At least 160 people were injured and an unknown number were buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour onslaught, Ukrainian officials said. Among the buildings reported to be damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks and schools.
Fighting along the front line is largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine's summer counteroffensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) line of contact.
Meanwhile, NATO member Poland said that a Russian missile appeared to have flown into its airspace for some 40 km before returning to Ukraine under three minutes later. However, the Russian charge d'affaires said that Warsaw provided no evidence of the missile entering Polish airspace.
The attacks were condemned by the US, France and the United Kingdom at a hastily convened UN Security Council session. The Ukrainian foreign ministry said that the assault shows that there should be "no talk of a truce" with Russia amid looming uncertainty over the future of Western support for Kyiv.
Ukraine has been warning for weeks that Russia could be stockpiling missiles to launch major air attacks on the energy system like it did last winter.
(with inputs from Reuters, AP)
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