Zelenskyy says Ukraine is facing a “major attack” by Russia in the next 24 hours
washington – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CBS News on Friday that Ukraine is preparing for a “massive attack” by Russia as soon as Friday or Saturday night.
In an exclusive interview with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has received intelligence information that indicates that the attack from Russia will include drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles.
“Our people must be very careful, be careful, and children – and they must use bomb shelters,” he said, “because tonight or tomorrow night, a high percentage – of course, no one knows 100% – but there is a high percentage.”
Zelenskyy also thanked American and European allies for sharing intelligence on Russia’s plans, but pointed out that Ukraine needs defense weapons to intercept incoming Russian missiles. In a letter to Congress and President Trump On Tuesday, Ukraine’s president pressed the US to acquire more Patriot missile systems, citing what he described as a “large-scale and especially brutal attack”. what Russia is doing on Sunday two were killed and 83 were injured.
As part of that bombardment, Russia launched 600 drones and dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles, including a medium-range, nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missile. It was the most significant airstrike in the capital Kyiv since the war began in 2022.
“We used all our weapons, which we have, which we produce, and then we used anti-ballistic missiles,” Zelenskyy said of Ukraine’s response to the 25th attack. “It’s missing a lot for us.”
Russia launched another attack outside Kyiv, including on infrastructure near the Romanian-Ukraine shared border. One of its drones entered the airspace of NATO-member Romania, too he hit the building in the country, according to the Romanian Ministry of Defense.
Many NATO countries attributed the attack to Russia, although the US did not. In a press conference on Friday, Putin wanted to blame Ukraine and said that the origin of the drone cannot be determined until the risks are assessed.
A Russian jet also crashed into a Turkish-owned cargo ship in the Black Sea, injuring two crew members, the Ukrainian military said.
Both Romania and Turkey are members of NATO. The 32-member alliance, which includes the US, condemned Russia’s “reckless behavior” and pledged to “defend every inch of allied territory.”
US Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, tweeted on X Friday morning, “We stand with our NATO Ally Romania and condemn this reckless attack on its territory. Our thoughts are with the wounded in Galatia. We will defend every inch of NATO.”
Zelenskyy said he believed the attack was part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to pressure Ukraine’s neighbors not to help his country.
“Russia is using this as a political attack, with weapons, pressure on NATO countries to look for a response,” he said. “I think that the reaction should be very strong in the unity of the NATO countries, and I think that Putin is comparing how this reaction is and how it has changed in this one or two years, three years.”
Zelenskyy said the attack could be a way for Putin to test the air defense of NATO countries.
“You check what air defense they have,” he said. “Can they destroy all the missiles or drones? That’s what I’m thinking.”
See more of Zelenskyy’s interview on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET on CBS channels and the stream continues Important+. The full interview will be posted on YouTube again CBSnews.com.
