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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the parliament in Kyiv
Photo: President of Ukraine Office / APAimages / IMAGO
The Russian attack on Ukraine lasted almost eleven months, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj regularly asked for support from the West.
Now, before the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos - and a new devastating Russian missile attack on the industrial city of Dnipro - he has again called for heavy weapons from the West.
"A new defense aid package has been announced - just what is needed: main battle tanks, other armored vehicles and artillery," the 44-year-old said in his daily video address last night.
He awaits decisions on further arms shipments from the World Economic Forum, which begins today, and the Ukraine Contact Group conference in Ramstein.
According to Zelensky, around 40 people died when a Russian missile hit a residential building in the industrial city of Dnipro over the weekend.
About two dozen are still missing.
Ukraine will do everything in its power to find those responsible and bring them to justice.
At the same time, the President warned the West to hurry to deliver the desired tanks.
Russia's attack on Dnipro and its new attempts to take the initiative in the war required "new solutions" and quicker decisions.
“We will see what Russia is preparing here”
Zelenskyy pointed out the strong Russian troop concentrations in the Donbass, especially around the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar, but also in southern Ukraine.
"We'll see what Russia is preparing here," said the President.
The Kremlin denied any responsibility for the momentous rocket hit in Dnipro and the many fatalities.
"Russia's armed forces are not attacking residential buildings or objects of social infrastructure," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday.
Representatives of the Ukrainian side said themselves that the "tragedy" at the weekend was caused by the Ukrainian air defenses.
Peskov was obviously alluding to statements made by the adviser in the Ukrainian presidential office, Oleksiy Arestovych.
He had named the launch of a Russian missile by anti-aircraft defense as a possible cause of the disaster.
mrc/dpa
