Russia’s Ukraine Strikes Kill 12, Including Indian Citizen, Zelensky Says

New Delhi: At least 12 people, including an Indian citizen, were killed and dozens injured in a Russian attack on several Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X on Tuesday (September 1).

Nearly 350 first responders were engaged in relief and recovery work in Kyiv and the surrounding region, Zelensky said, adding that the attack involved jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles which damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine expressed regrets over the death of the Indian national in another post on X. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of an Indian national in an attack in Ukraine. The Embassy is in touch with the bereaved family and extends its deepest condolences."

The embassy said that assistance for early repatriation of the mortal remains was being provided by Ukrainian authorities in coordination with the Indian embassy and the company the Indian national worked at.

The deceased person was later identified as Vavilala Sudarshan Goud, 42, who had gone from Hasnabad Telangana to Ukraine in search of a job.

Russian attack

The Ukrainian president earlier described the damage in various parts of the country due to the strikes. In Boryspil, he said, a five-storey residential building was damaged. Fifty people were evacuated while four people were killed and 13 injured in the city. 

“Since last evening, guided aerial bomb and drone strikes have continued against Odessa and the region. Thousands of families were left without electricity, and work is ongoing to restore power to people as quickly as possible,” the Ukrainian president said.

A border crossing with Romania and export infrastructure were also damaged. In Kyiv, seven people were killed in a strike on a railway depot.

The Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy and Dnipro regions were also attacked, Zelensky said.

Zelensky said that Russia’s strikes against Ukraine only succeed when its air defense capabilities are insufficient. “ I am grateful to everyone helping Ukraine receive anti-ballistic capabilities through PURL and bilateral supplies, and it is very important that these deliveries increase this fall. The number of victims of Russian terror directly hinges on every new package of assistance. I thank everyone who is helping make Ukraine more resilient,” he said.

Modi-Putin meet

Zelensky’s statement comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, where he told Putin that the world must move from “endless war to the end of war”.

“Every day that the war continues, humanity takes a step backwards; yet every step towards peace gives humanity real hope,” Modi told Putin at the start of their bilateral meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

As of the time of publication, the Indian government had not issued a statement on the Indian citizen killed in the latest Russian strikes.