Ukrainian officials say Russia’s missile strikes targeting civilians and major cities on Monday have bolstered their resolve to win the ongoing war.
“Ukrainians are feeling today entire spectrum of emotions… Anger, hatred, outrage, fury, disgust towards the russians. More determination to win than ever before. And not a drop of fear,” Olena Halushka, a board member for the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Action Center wrote in a tweet on Monday.
“Kremlin and Russian gang! With your shelling, you cause us only rage and contempt! No fear, no desire to agree on something. You awaken in us the desire to destroy you, terrorists, wherever you are – on the streets and in bunkers, at sea and on land,” Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said in a tweet. “You can scare only the obedient Russian herd. You will NEVER break us. And no rockets will save the terrorist state, it only increases our thirst for Victory!”
The Russian missile attacks came after an explosion partially damaged the Kerch Bridge on Saturday. The bridge connects Russia to Crimea and serves as a major supply route to Russian troops in southern Ukraine. Russian officials have blamed Ukraine for the attack even though Kyiv did not claim responsibility.
Russia’s missile strikes on Monday killed 14 people and injured 97 others, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service.
“Why such strikes exactly? The enemy wants us to be afraid, wants to make people run,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address on Monday. “But we can only run forward—and we demonstrate this on the battlefield. It will continue to be so.”
In a statement on Twitter, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered this type of attack to “compensate” for Russian troops “impotence on the battlefield.”
“You just don’t get it do you – your terrorist strikes only make us stronger. We are coming after you,” the defense ministry added.
