Borrell calls for more air defenses for Kyiv after shopping mall attack
The European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, appealed to the bloc's member states on Monday to donate more air defence equipment to Ukraine because it "saves lives".
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Borrell spoke after the Russian attack on a hypermarket in Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, which left, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of the Interior, at least 12 dead and 43 injured, an attack that the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, considered "ignoble".
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"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the atrocious attacks perpetrated by Russia against the city of Kharkiv, including a shopping centre full of people, in which civilians were killed and injured," Borrell said in a message posted on Saturday night on the social network X.
For Borrell, Europe "urgently needs to increase support for the air defence of the Kyiv army", because it 'saves lives and protects Ukrainian cities'.
The head of European diplomacy promised that "all" the perpetrators of attacks like the one on Saturday in Kharkiv, which he described as "Russian war crimes", will be "held accountable" in the future.
For his part, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, considered the bombing of the Kharkiv hypermarket "terrifying" and stated that "Russia's efforts to terrorise the Ukrainian civilian population as part of its war of aggression are criminal".
"Together we can stop Russia's brutal attacks. We urgently need to move forward with a comprehensive air defence solution for Ukraine," wrote Michel, who chairs the body that brings together the presidents and prime ministers of the EU, in a message in tune with Borrell.
Hours before the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also called again for more air defence systems from the international community.
To carry out the attack on the Kharkiv hypermarket, Russia used two guided missiles that hit a construction materials store and set fire to 15,000 square metres.
Three hours after this attack, Russia also attacked the centre of Kharkiv, injuring at least 18 people, according to the Public Ministry, so that on Saturday almost 60 people were injured in the city, adding this attack to the centre and the hypermarket.
According to the Kharkiv Public Prosecutor's Office, the missiles hit office buildings and also damaged administrative buildings, a supermarket, shops, homes, a post office, cars and other civilian targets.
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