The death toll from the Russian attack on the city of Zaporozhye has risen to 11. What the governor of the region claims

Almost 2,500 square kilometers were freed by Ukrainians from Russian occupation in the last week alone, according to officials in Kyiv.

At the same time, Ukrainian President Zelensky asked, on Friday, the European leaders gathered at the summit in Prague to increase the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. In recent attacks on residential buildings in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporozhye, Kremlin forces used drones from Iran.

The death toll from the Russian attack on the city of Zaporozhye

Two days have passed since the Russian attack on the city of Zaporozhye, in eastern Ukraine, and rescue teams are still searching for survivors under the ruins. So far, the toll is 11 dead, but many locals are missing.

Local: “My aunt is over there where that pile is. I wait here, but they won’t let me in. Her husband was bedridden and she was very ill. Her grandson is also here, he had stayed overnight. All three probably died there“.

All the relatives had to do was wait. There is still hope. So far, rescuers have pulled 21 people alive from under the piles of rubble.

Local: “I’m on the missing persons list. Let’s hope there’s still life under the rubble. We are waiting“.

The buildings were attacked with Iranian-made kamikaze drones

According to the governor in the region, civilian buildings were attacked with Iranian-made kamikaze drones. These devices can hover over the target for several hours, which they eventually hit, causing devastating explosions.

Zaporozhye province, where the attack took place, is one of four illegally annexed by Putin. But the Kiev army is advancing rapidly and recovering new territories.

Volodymyr Zelenksi: “This week alone, our soldiers liberated 776 square kilometers of territory in the east of our country and 29 localities, including six in the Lugansk region, after the Russian pseudo-referendum. In total, since the beginning of this counteroffensive, 2,434 square kilometers of our land and 96 localities have been liberated“.

Heavy fighting took place in Bahmut, in the Donetsk region, where the Russians tried to break the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Local: “This is the work of our artillery. Yes, our tank, our artillery, are the newest weapons. The Russians are trying to get hold of them, but our soldiers won’t let them. They try to break into the area several times a day“.

Local: “There was fighting there today, just 200-300 meters from here“.

The Russians are now trying to occupy the entire Donetsk region, annexed on paper by Putin. So, Russian officials say, they transferred more mercenaries from the Wagner group to Bahmut.

Zelensky calls on European leaders to increase arms and ammunition supplies to Ukraine

Meanwhile, President Zelenski is insistently asking European leaders, gathered this week at the Prague summit, to increase arms and ammunition supplies to Ukraine. At the end of the meeting, President Macron announced the creation of a “special fund” of one hundred million euros for the hard-pressed country.

Emmanuel Macron, President of France: “We continue to work with European partners for additional deliveries of Caesar (cannons). And, we also decided to create a special fund that would allow Ukraine, if needed, to buy military materials directly from our manufacturers“.

At the beginning of the week, the US also announced a new military aid package for Ukraine, worth 620,000,000 dollars.