After a Russian attack killed at least four and injured at least 38, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Ukraine's partners to "provide Ukraine with additional air defense and support for Ukrainian strikes on military targets in Russia" in a post on X on May 25.
The missile strike earlier in the day hit a building materials hypermarket. In a post on Telegram, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said two Russian guided bombs had hit the hypermarket, causing a fire covering 15,000 square meters.
Mere hours later, a second strike on Kharkiv's city center injured at least 14 more.
Additional air defense, and the ability to shoot down Russia's military aircraft before they drop bombs is the only way to prevent such "barbaric war crimes against civilians," Kuleba wrote in his post.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said that they do not support or encourage Kyiv's strikes with American weapons deep inside Russia, while Ukrainian officials are reportedly trying to convince Washington to lift this ban.
According to the New York Times, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken began to support lifting the ban on striking targets in Russia after his visit to Kyiv earlier in May.
Zelensky also called for additional air defense systems from world leaders after the deadly strike.
Kyiv has ramped up its calls on allies to provide Ukraine with more air defenses, in particular, with U.S.-made Patriot systems that can intercept ballistic missiles.
Earlier in the week, Kuleba wrote on X, "We are very grateful to Germany for announcing one additional (Patriot) system. But getting six more as soon as possible remains critical not only for Ukraine’s survival but for peace in Europe."
Chris York
