KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - On Friday night, March 21, 2024, Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, resulting in the deaths of three individuals and injuring 12 others, Ukrainian officials reported. This attack came despite previous agreements on a limited ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
The city of Zaporizhzhia faced a barrage of 12 drones, as confirmed by police. Ivan Fedorov, the regional head, reported that residential buildings, vehicles, and communal structures were set ablaze during the assault. Emergency services were seen meticulously searching through the rubble for potential survivors amid the devastation.
On Wednesday, a limited ceasefire was discussed in principle after a conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Ukraine and Russia. However, there remains uncertainty regarding which specific targets would be exempt from military action. The White House indicated that the ceasefire would encompass a broader scope, including “energy and infrastructure,” while the Kremlin asserted the terms were more narrowly focused on “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his desire to extend protections to railways and ports as well.
The tragic fatalities in Zaporizhzhia included three members of the same family. The bodies of both the daughter and father were retrieved from underneath the debris, while emergency doctors struggled for over ten hours to save the mother, ultimately without success, as per Fedorov's statement via Telegram.
In the larger context of the conflict, the Ukrainian air force announced that Russia had launched a total of 179 drones and decoys during this recent wave of attacks. Of those, 100 drones were intercepted, and an additional 63 were reportedly lost due to electronic jamming. Descending debris from these intercepted drones caused fires in the regions of Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk, further contributing to the chaos.
Conversely, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense systems successfully shot down 47 Ukrainian drones during this period. Following the call between Trump and Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president mentioned that Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators would be discussing technical aspects of the partial ceasefire in a meeting planned in Saudi Arabia on the following Monday, while separate discussions were also arranged for Russian negotiators with U.S. officials.
Zelenskyy emphasized Ukraine's openness to a comprehensive, 30-day ceasefire proposed by Trump, stating that Ukraine is willing to consider any format or action aimed at achieving an unconditional ceasefire. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has conditioned a full ceasefire on the cessation of arms supplies to Ukraine and a halt to military mobilization, demands that have been firmly rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.
