On Sunday, Russian warplanes hit the Vinnytsia airport in central Ukraine, killing up to nine people. AFP reported that as of 5 a.m. GMT (10.30 a.m. IST), 15 individuals had been pulled from the rubble, nine of them had been found dead, citing Ukrainian rescue services.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said eight Russian rockets hit the airport in Vinnytsia in a video message on Sunday. Soon after the tragedy, the Ukrainian Parliament sent out multiple tweets depicting fire and smoke consuming the sky.
Following the incident, Zelenskyy reiterated his call for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to be imposed by foreign countries. “Every day, we repeat.” Close the sky over Ukraine. He remarked in the video, “Close it for all Russian missiles…combat aircraft, for all these terrorists.”
Create a humanitarian air zone free of rockets and air bombs. We are people, and it is our humanitarian duty to protect ourselves and our fellow citizens. And you’ll be able to do it. There can only be one outcome if you do not do that, if you do not at least provide us with aircraft so that we can defend ourselves. You also want us to die gradually. It is also the obligation of the world’s politicians, particularly Western leaders, to address this issue. Today and would always, President Zelensky added.
His demands have so far elicited negative replies, with European Council President Charles Michel declaring on Sunday that blocking the skies over Ukraine would precipitate a global conflict.
Earlier in the day, the Russian military established a ceasefire in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Sumy, Ukraine, following a personal request from French President Emmanuel Macron. According to Reuters, the humanitarian corridors would allow civilians fleeing the fighting to travel safely and will be operating for 11 hours.
