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(CNN) Russia unleashed a deadly wave of attacks on towns and cities across Ukraine on Wednesday as Chinese President Xi Jinping departed Moscow after meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
Xi left the Russian capital promising to deepen relations with Putin, but the talks failed to make a breakthrough on the Ukraine issue.
Ukrainian officials say that when Xi returned to Beijing, Russian forces carried out attacks in Ukraine’s Kiev region using Iranian-made Shard drones, killing at least eight people. Kiev region police chief Andriy Nievitov said seven people were injured when a drone crashed into a dormitory building in the town of Ruzhshchiv.
In the southeastern city of Zaporizhia, at least one person was killed and 34, including two children, injured after Russian missiles hit apartment blocks. Ukrainian official and presidential adviser Mikhaylo Podoljak.
Video of the attack shows explosions blasting through the sides of two nine-story residential buildings.
Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office said in a statement that at least six missiles hit the city, causing extensive damage.
“One of the missiles hit between two high-rise buildings, partially destroying apartments and balconies, and smashing roofs and windows,” the statement said. “The blast and debris also damaged other nearby homes, vehicles and other civilian infrastructure in the city.”
Houses damaged by a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, on March 22.
“We are not afraid”
Student Kirilo Chorney, 20, was inside an apartment just meters from where the explosion occurred.
“I heard an explosion and saw a fire,” he told CNN outside the complex, using a flashlight to point to his apartment.
Inside, all windows are blown out. Chorniy said his father was standing by the window when the explosion happened and was barely killed. Still, Chorniy and his parents say they won’t be kicked out.
“We are usually angry. We are not scared. Why is that? This is our home,” he said. “I sleep in my own bed. My parents sleep in theirs. There are no windows so it will be a little cold, but I’m not going anywhere.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attacks “beastly barbarism” on the social media app Telegram, then said Wednesday’s wave of Russian attacks would have a response from Ukraine.
“Any Russian attack will get a military, political and legal response,” he said. “Russia will lose this war.”
The Biden administration on Wednesday did not go so far as to accuse Russia of targeting civilians in a missile strike in Zaporizhia, but said it was “certainly” consistent with previous such attacks.
“It’s clearly insane for Russia to target civilian infrastructure and ignore civilians,” said John Kirby, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator.
CCTV footage captures the moment of the missile strike in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, on March 22. This screengrab taken from a social media video.
Zelensky visits the front line
The Ukrainian Air Force said Wednesday’s attack involved a salvo of 21 drones fired into Ukraine from the north, of which 16 were shot down.
The attack came as Zelensky made an unannounced visit to Ukrainian forces on the front lines in the eastern Donbass region, where heavy fighting with Russian forces is ongoing.
Video from the Ukrainian president’s office shows Zelensky presenting medals to soldiers in Kharkov and visiting wounded servicemen at hospitals near the front lines in the Donetsk region.
Some of the wounded helped defend the city of Bakhmut in the months-long battle to hold off Russian forces from the strategic city. , and the offensive capability of the Russian army has decreased both inside and outside the city.
“It pains me to see the city of Donbass, where Russia has brought so much suffering and ruin,” Zelensky said Wednesday night.
“There, in the Donbass of the Kharkov region, wherever Russian evil comes from, it is clear that the terrorist state can be stopped only by one thing: our victory.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes hands with Ukrainian soldiers during his visit to the Bakhmut front line in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on March 22.
Xi’s visit to China failed to pave the way for peace
Wednesday’s wave of attacks in Ukraine came as President Putin welcomed his Chinese counterpart in Moscow, after three days of official visits billed by Beijing as a peace mission to make a breakthrough in resolving the dispute. could not be achieved.
The two leaders called for an end to actions that “increase tensions” and “prolong” the war, according to a joint statement issued by China’s foreign ministry. The statement does not acknowledge that Russian aggression and military attacks are the cause of the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
In recent weeks, China has appeared to establish itself as Ukraine’s peace broker, announcing its position on a “political solution” to the conflict and calling for a ceasefire and peace talks.
However, the proposal is considered uninitiable in the West and in Kiev, as it does not contain a provision for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukrainian soil.
On Tuesday, Zelensky said the ceasefire would “simply freeze” the conflict and give Russia time to come back with “their only wish, that of their leader, that of occupying our country.” said to give
CNN’s Ivan Watson, Vasco Cotovio, Victoria Butenko, and Simone McCarthy contributed to the report.
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