‘Time for decisive action’: Zelenskiy pleads with allies after massive Russian attack on Ukraine – live | Ukraine

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has issued another plea to western partners to step up their assistance, after Russian launched what he described as “one of the largest attacks – a combined strike, involving over a hundred missiles of various types and around a hundred ‘Shaheds.’”

“Across Ukraine, we could do much more to protect lives if the aviation of our European neighbors operated in concert with our F-16s and air defense systems. If such unity has proven effective in the Middle East, it must work in Europe too,” the Ukrainian leader stressed.

“Ukraine cannot be constrained in its long-range capabilities when the terrorists face no such limitations,” he said, adding: “America, Britain, France, and our other partners have the power to help us stop this terror. The time for decisive action is now.”

Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, has called on Kyiv’s friends to agree “to use partners’ air defense capabilities to shoot down missiles and drones close to their airspace.”

There are two specific decisions that our partners can make to help us put an end to Russian terror sooner. First, affirming Ukraine’s long-range strikes on all legitimate military targets on Russian territory. Second, agreeing to use partners’ air defense capabilities to shoot down missiles and drones close to their airspace.

None of these decisions are escalatory. To the contrary, they will deter Russia, help to reduce terror and the number of Russian attacks, as well as the resulting casualties. Act now, not later. Help us save lives.

The Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said this morning that “15 regions were affected” by Russian missile and drone attacks.

There are wounded and dead, he said, noting that energy infrastructure has been impacted and Ukrenergo is applying emergency power cuts to stabilise the system.

He also reiterated Kyiv’s call for long-range weapons and permission from partners to hit Russian targets.

Good morning. It is 10:20am in Kyiv. Russia has launched a missile and drone attack, according to Ukrainian military. Witnesses reported blasts near Kyiv, which were attributed to air defence responding to the attack.

At least three people were killed, regional authorities said. The casualties were reported in western Lutsk, eastern Dnipro and southern Zaporizhzhia regions.

Power and water supplies were disrupted in parts of Kyiv, the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine’s largest private energy producer DTEK said it was introducing emergency power outages following the attacks.

We will keep you updated on developments. Meanwhile, here is the latest news from elsewhere in the Ukraine-Russia war:

• Ukraine on Sunday called on Belarus to pull back what it described as significant levels of Belarusian forces and equipment deployed at their common border. The Ukrainian foreign ministry warned Belarus against making “tragic mistakes” while under pressure from Moscow. The ministry said Belarus special forces and former Wagner mercenary fighters were among the troops at the border.

• A British man working for the Reuters news agency has been killed in a strike on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the news agency has said. Ryan Evans, who was working as a safety adviser for the agency, was killed after a missile struck the Hotel Sapphire on Saturday where he was staying as part of a six-person team.

• Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the hotel was hit by a Russian Iskander missile, a ballistic missile that can strike at distances up to 500 km (310 miles). “An ordinary city hotel was destroyed by the Russian Iskander,” he said in his evening address on Sunday, adding the strike was “absolutely purposeful, thought out … my condolences to family and friends.” Russia has been bombing hotels in frontline areas for more than a year.

• Ukraine’s forces advanced up to three kilometres in Russia’s Kursk region, taking control of two more settlements there, Zelenskiy also said in his evening address.

• Russia launched attacks on northern, eastern and southern Ukraine on Sunday, killing at least four people and injuring 37, Ukrainian military and local authorities said. Overnight attacks targeted Ukraine’s frontline regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram messaging app. “Most of the missiles did not reach their targets,” the air force said.

• Former US president Donald Trump signalled his support for Ukraine in a conversation with Zelenskiy and said he wants to stop the war with Russia, the Ukrainian president told Indian reporters in an interview posted on his social media channel on Sunday.