Selenskyj calls on his supporters to give Ukraine a free hand to attack Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on his country’s Western supporters to give the Ukrainian military a free hand to retaliate against Russia in view of the increasing number of Russian air strikes on his country.

“The faster the world helps us deal with the Russian fighter jets that are dropping these bombs, the faster we can attack the Russian military infrastructure, the Russian military airports, the closer we will be to peace,” Zelensky said in his regular evening video address on Sunday.

The Ukrainian military has long been demanding permission from the West to attack Russian bases and air bases far behind the front line with heavy weapons.

Until now, Ukraine was only allowed to use the weapons and ammunition supplied by the West near the front and in the border area with Russia.

Ukraine relies on domestically produced drones to launch attacks in the Russian hinterland, but these are not as effective as more modern missiles or cruise missiles from abroad.

Selenskyj calls for stronger air defense

Previously, Zelensky had complained about ongoing Russian bombing raids and again asked the West for more help with air defense.

Last week alone, Russia dropped 800 glide bombs over Ukraine, Zelensky announced in Kiev on Sunday. He also published a video of the severe destruction and fires in the regions of Kherson, Dnipro, Odessa and Zaporizhia, among others.

“Ukraine needs more air defense systems. We need strong help from our partners,” said Zelensky.

Ukraine also needs the means to shoot down Russian fighter-bombers, he said.

Seven people were killed in an attack on the city of Vilna in the Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday. More than 40 people were injured, according to official figures on Sunday. Lower numbers were initially reported the day before.

According to Mayor Oleh Terekhov, at least one person was killed in a Russian air strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday, and eight other people, including an eight-month-old baby, were seriously injured in the attack.

The glide bomb exploded in the middle of the city center. Kharkiv’s military administrator, Oleh Synjehubov, said that a post office was hit in the attack.

The West is supporting Ukraine in its defense campaign against the Russian invasion, which has been going on for more than two years. The country has repeatedly requested additional Patriot air defense systems from the US to better protect its cities from Russian air attacks.

Incident at the border between Ukraine and Hungary

On Ukraine’s western border with Hungary, a border guard shot dead one man and wounded another on Saturday evening after they tried to attack him with a machete, according to a report by the news website Ukrainska Pravda, citing border guards and authorities.

The incident occurred in the western Ukrainian region of Chernivtsi. Authorities did not initially release any details about the suspected attackers or any information about what might have led to the attack.

Clashes have broken out along the border due to border officials’ efforts to enforce rules prohibiting men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country without exceptional circumstances.

In another incident, 17 men were detained in a minibus at the border with Hungary as they allegedly tried to leave Ukraine illegally, border officials said.

The men came from different regions of Ukraine and tried to flee to Hungary. Authorities said an initial investigation showed the men were asked to pay between $3,000 and $12,000 to leave the country.

Russian occupiers confiscate Ukrainian property

Occupation troops in the Russian-annexed Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine are preparing to hand over residential properties to military personnel, the Center of National Resistance in Kyiv said on Sunday.

Not only would apartments be handed over to Moscow’s occupation forces, but also to migrants from Central Asia, the center said.

The internationally unrecognized leadership in Luhansk is preparing appropriate laws. Many Ukrainians have fled the occupied territories and left their property behind.

Immigrants from Central Asia are used by Russia primarily as cheap labor – not least for the reconstruction of cities and villages destroyed by the war.

According to a statement from the center, the occupying forces confiscated abandoned houses during the war and transferred them to homeless people.

Civilians would also be forcibly relocated from areas near the front. Russian soldiers would then be housed in the civilian buildings, it was said.

Russian state employees in Luhansk receive abandoned apartments from Ukrainians to carry out administrative duties in the occupied territories, the center said. Such apartments and houses are offered for sale at low prices.

“The Kremlin is promoting such resettlements because it wants to completely Russify the occupied territories,” the statement said.

The occupiers refused to recognize the ownership documents issued under Ukrainian law. Instead, they demanded that the ownership be formalized under Russian law. Homeowners would then be forced to first apply for a Russian passport and then go through Russian legal procedures.

The center stressed that Russia’s actions were illegal and recommended that Ukrainian citizens keep original documents or certified copies of property deeds. The Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly announced its intention to recapture the annexed territories.

Ukrainian citizens were also expropriated on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Numerous houses, including one belonging to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s family, were confiscated by the Russian state.