Today, 9 August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received reports from Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyy and discussed with Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhaylo Drapatyy how Ukraine will respond to Russia for strikes on the country.
The head of state spoke about this in his evening address.
“Work is still ongoing in Odesa after the strike overnight. There were power and water outages—every service is involved to restore supply. By morning, more than 300,000 families in Odesa and the Region were without electricity; as of now, a third have already been reconnected, and the work continues. I want to thank all repair crews, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, everyone involved. There were also strikes on Kharkiv and the region, on Pavlohrad, Kherson, Sumy Region, and our Zhytomyr Region. It is important that there is real help for people everywhere,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Following his conversation with Mykhaylo Drapatyy, the president noted that “entirely fair responses are in place; for every Russian strike there will be our reaction. Russia’s war will be felt more and more at home, in Russia.”
He thanked the Armed Forces and the Security Service of Ukraine, as the operation targeting Russian oil refining continues and is “very tangible” in Russia. Russian surface-to-air missile systems and radar stations were also hit, as were responses against Russian infrastructure in the Azov and Black Sea regions. The only reason this is still continuing is Russia’s unwillingness to end this war, Zelenskyy said.
The head of state announced new contacts with mediators next week regarding the steps and proposals that are needed.
“Ukraine is always active in diplomacy. There will be new contacts to secure air defense packages—to protect our state and our people,” the president said.
- On the night of 9 August, Russian forces carried out a massive combined attack on Odesa Region. The Russian military used several dozen missiles and attack drones.