Zelenskyy condemns Russian strikes as Ukraine's school year begins
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a school in Kyiv Oblast (Photo: Office of the President)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned a massive Russian attack launched ahead of Sept. 1, saying Russians "deliberately make children participants in the war," Ukrainian broadcaster TSN reported.
On Sept. 1 — the traditional first day of the Ukrainian school year — Zelenskyy visited a rebuilt lyceum (secondary school) in Kyiv Oblast, though an air raid alert forced everyone present to take shelter.
"There's an alert right now, unfortunately. The Russkis are just complete scumbags," Zelenskyy told journalists.
“The first of September... children... You know, even among enemies there's usually some understanding that children are children. But the Russians make children participants in the war. They've done it, they've been doing it... and they'll keep doing it until they're put in their place.”
He also said Russian forces are trying to disrupt Ukraine's school year. According to Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine, Zelenskyy said the past two weeks of Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure coincided with a period when many international partners were on summer break.
"I really wanted to share this feeling — you know, diplomacy running on a schedule: when it's vacation time, it's vacation time," the president said.
“As in, if bombs are falling, well, we don't know, we're on vacation. That's a very unpleasant fact. The Russians aren't afraid of anyone, but still, they're a little afraid — aside from our armed forces — when diplomacy speaks loudly.”
He added that it is deeply unpleasant when "someone is on vacation while someone else is fighting for their life."
During the day on Sept. 1, Russian forces attacked Kyiv with drones. In the city's Podilskyi district, a fire broke out on the 14th and 15th floors of a 16-story residential building following the strike, injuring three people.
An overnight strike on Kyiv city and the surrounding region using ballistic and cruise missiles killed 12 people, including an Indian national.
On Aug. 31, air raid alerts sounded 11 times in Kyiv because of the threat from jet-powered Shahed drones, with eight people reported injured. Russian forces have attacked the capital and Kyiv Oblast with drones almost continuously since Aug. 27.
Russia's overnight attack into Sept. 1
On Sept. 1, Russia carried out a targeted ballistic missile strike on a railway depot and other facilities belonging to Ukrainian Railways in Kyiv, killing seven people, six of them railway workers. The attack caused extensive destruction, including the complete destruction of one workshop. One additional person was killed in the Holosiyivskyi district.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched ballistic and cruise missiles along with nearly 200 drones at Ukraine. Air defenses neutralized 10 ballistic and cruise missiles, two Banderol-type munitions and 187 drones. Missile and drone strikes were recorded at 28 locations, with debris falling in 10 additional locations. Some missiles failed to reach their targets.
According to the Kyiv Oblast Military Administration, four people were killed in Boryspil, with 13 more injured. In Boryspil, a five-story residential building, a store, private homes, vehicles, a business, and an auto repair shop were damaged.
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