Europe Erupts in Fury as Russia Launches Massive Strikes on Ukraine

(MENAFN) Senior European leaders have issued a torrent of condemnations following a sweeping Russian missile and drone offensive across Ukraine, denouncing the strikes as deliberate attacks on civilian populations and pledging intensified support for Kyiv as the war enters a dangerous new phase.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday that the assault reflected "brutality and disregard for both human life and peace negotiations," announcing that additional European support for Ukraine's air defense infrastructure was already being prepared.

"Terror against civilians is not strength. It's despair," she said through X.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas characterized the strikes as evidence of a deliberate tactical shift by Moscow toward targeting urban centers, arguing that Russian battlefield reverses were translating into escalating violence against civilians.

"These are abhorrent acts of terror meant to kill as many civilians as possible. ... Next week, EU Foreign Ministers will discuss how to dial up the international pressure on Russia," she said on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron singled out the deployment of a ballistic weapon in his rebuke.

"France condemns this attack and the use of the Oreshnik ballistic missile, which above all signal a kind of headlong rush and the impasse of Russia's war of aggression," he said on X, reaffirming Paris' backing for Ukraine.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued an unequivocal denunciation, describing the offensive as a reckless escalation and reiterating Berlin's unwavering commitment to Ukrainian sovereignty and defense.

Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee went further, invoking the language of international law.

"I strongly condemn Russia's massive and indiscriminate missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities last night. The deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime," she said, expressing solidarity with victims and their families.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the scale of the strikes offered no evidence of any genuine Russian appetite for peace talks, noting that civilian zones had once again been directly hit.

"There is no justification for attacks that terrorize an entire population. ... Belgium condemns these attacks in the strongest possible terms," he said, voicing continued support for Ukraine.

On the ground, Ukrainian authorities reported widespread destruction across multiple regions including the capital Kyiv, with residential buildings, critical infrastructure, and government facilities sustaining damage and casualties recorded. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had launched approximately 90 missiles and around 600 drones in the assault, with fatalities and injuries confirmed even as the full toll remained under assessment.

Moscow offered a starkly different account, with the Russian Defense Ministry describing the operation as a "large-scale retaliatory strike" against Ukrainian military and defense-industrial targets, claiming all objectives were met. Russia said the strikes were a direct response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian-controlled territory earlier in the week, citing an incident in the Luhansk region as among the provocations.

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