Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has blasted Russia for conducting air strikes coinciding with the observance of Orthodox Palm Sunday as Russian forces continued their attacks in the east.
“This is how the terrorist state marks Palm Sunday,” Zelenskiy said in a video address late on April 9 referring to Russian military strikes in the city of Zaporizhzhya in southeastern Ukraine that killed a father and his 11-year-old daughter.
“This is how Russia places itself in even greater isolation from the world, from humanity,” Zelenskiy added, while expressing hope that Palm Sunday next year “will take place with peace and freedom for all our people.”
The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said a 50-year-old man and his daughter were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhya.
The Ukrainian State Emergency Service also reported that a 46-year-old woman, who it described as the wife and mother of the victims, was pulled from the wreckage.
Ukraine’s army reported Russian attacks throughout the front. In a statement issued early on April 10, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said 58 enemy attacks were repelled over the past 24 hours, adding that Russia is still focused on the cities and towns of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka in the Donetsk region.
“The fiercest battles on the indicated part of the front continue for Avdiyivka and Maryinka, where more than 20 enemy attacks were repelled,” the statement added.
WATCH: Rescuers pulled a 46-year-old woman from the rubble early on April 9 after Russian missiles struck the city of Zaporizhzhya. The woman’s 11-year-old daughter and 50-year-old husband were killed in the attack.
The statement said 30 Russian attacks had been repelled in areas around Bakhmut, which has been besieged by Russian forces for months.
Serhiy Cherevatiy, a spokesman for the eastern military command, said on national television: “The enemy is trying to take our city-fortress at any cost.”
“Although it is extremely difficult, we are still in control of the situation. Our units are holding back the enemy and inflicting a maximum of damage, “ he added.
