NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited the Black Sea port of Odessa alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.
“Ukraine’s citizens have faced immense suffering — particularly Russia’s assault on Palm Sunday in Sumy,” Rutte stated on the platform X.
Rutte guaranteed ongoing backing for Ukraine from the Western military coalition NATO.
On Sunday, at least 35 people were killed in a Russian missile attack on Sumy.
Zelensky shared a video on his Telegram channel showing a collective visit to a military hospital in Odessa. In the company of Rutte, he presented medals to those who were injured.
In their discussions together, they particularly focused on bolstering Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.
“Everyone can clearly see the critical urgency of Ukraine’s need for air-defense systems and missiles,” wrote Zelensky. He reaffirmed Kyiv’s readiness to acquire Patriot air-defense systems.
Zelensky cautioned U.S. negotiators during discussions with Russia not to agree to unacceptable compromises regarding the Ukrainian territories that have been seized.
“Every territory belongs to the unitary state of Ukraine,” Zelensky stated at a press briefing alongside Rutte.
Zelensky stated that only the Ukrainian people would determine their national borders.
“And you understand that this is a red line for us — we won’t acknowledge any temporarily occupied territories as Ukrainian; they should be considered Russian,” Zelensky stated, according to local press reports.
Zelensky seeks removal of Sumy governor following lethal attack
On Tuesday, Zelensky started legal action to remove the military governor of the northeastern Sumy area, after the damaging Russian missile attack.
The government supported the attempts to remove Volodymyr Artyukh, according to an announcement made by parliamentary representative Taras Melynchuk via Telegram.
On Monday, Artyukh confirmed that military personnel had gathered for an award ceremony in the city of Sumy at the time of the attack. He stressed, however, that he had not initiated the event.
Artyukh has been military governor of the Sumy region for almost two years.
Deadly 24 hours
At least six civilians were killed in Ukraine due to Russian assaults within a 24-hour period, according to officials on Tuesday.
According to Governor Ivan Fedorov’s post on Telegram, a man lost his life in the southern part of Zaporizhzhya. Meanwhile, in the adjacent Donetsk area, another individual died in the town of Pokrovsk, which sits just a short distance away from the frontline.
Earlier, four people were reported killed in the eastern region of Kharkiv. Some 17 people were injured in the attacks.
Russia not spared
The Russian military, for their part, claimed to have shot down 115 Ukrainian drones, with 109 of those being intercepted over the western border area near Kursk.
A 85-year-old woman died and nine others were hurt in the assault from Ukraine, as reported by Russia’s TASS news agency, citing regional officials in Kursk. The report also mentioned that around two dozen houses suffered damage.
Multiple structures were engulfed in flames, as reported by TASS, among them was a garage that housed ambulances.
The details couldn’t be confirmed separately.
Over the past few months, Russia has conducted numerous drone assaults on urban areas across Ukraine.
Kyiv has been fending off a full-scale Russian assault since February 24, 2022.
