Foreign minister describes attacks as ‘tactic of coercion’
A Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad killed five people on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said Friday, as the city marked a day of mourning and authorities tallied two additional deaths and 79 injuries across the wider Dnipropetrovsk region.
Firefighters worked through the morning in Pavlohrad to extinguish fires ignited by overnight strikes, according to the Ukrainian Emergency Service.
Dnipropetrovsk governor Oleksandr Hanzha condemned the attack. “This is another crime by Russia against peaceful people. Those who lived, worked, and raised children. Russian attacks bring death and destruction to our cities and villages,” Hanzha said.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, characterized the strikes as deliberate. “Russia is systematically attacking places where it knows people will be spending their time going about their daily lives, seeking to maximise casualties, spread fear, and put pressure on Ukrainian society,” Sybiha said. “This is a tactic of coercion. Russia believes that relentless attacks on civilians can exhaust Ukrainians and force Ukraine into concessions,” he added.
Ukrainian prime minister Sergii Koretskyi said Russian attacks on businesses and civilian infrastructure were “rapidly growing” and urged the government to “react and act in advance.”
Reuters reported that separate Russian strikes hit a petrol station in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district and an agribusiness facility in the southeastern city of Dnipro. The two additional attacks added to what Reuters described as Russia’s intensified air campaign in recent weeks.