The European Solidarity faction in the Verkhovna Rada is calling for the urgent convening of a closed-door meeting of the Conciliation Council, as well as a parliamentary session, due to the continuous aerial terror campaign by the aggressor state.
"European Solidarity demands the immediate convening of a closed-door meeting of the Conciliation Council and a session of the Verkhovna Rada to address a single issue: the provision of air defense and Armed Forces equipment, and the situation regarding shelters. We need a report on the production of domestic missiles and anti-Shahed systems—things the authorities have endlessly announced. What is the status of the communications system and its protection? These are the questions... Today, we will demand that the Verkhovna Rada leadership arrange a closed-door meeting with military officials and the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council," faction co-chair Iryna Geraschenko wrote on Facebook on Monday.
According to her, the strikes on Kyiv demonstrate just how unprotected the capital and other Ukrainian cities are against jet-powered drones, while the occupiers are "rapidly modernizing their instruments of death and ramping up production."
Geraschenko also called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet with the leadership of the parliamentary factions.
She later added that "this escalation is taking place against the backdrop of numerous summits and statements about 'hellish places' and millions of drones—for which billions have been allocated from the budget." "Yes, Russian occupation forces are killing Ukrainians. Yes, the world is not reacting sufficiently to these crimes (and support is dwindling further against the backdrop of government corruption scandals). But the time has come to ask the Ukrainian authorities as well: where are our cutting-edge developments—such as long-range missiles capable of striking the Russian military-industrial complex and anti-Shahed defense systems? Where are the results of your security agreements and peace summits?" Geraschenko wrote.
The MP also noted that profit margins in the defense sector within NATO countries stand at 8%, whereas in Ukraine they exceed 20%, despite the high volume of imported components. "Isn't this return on investment too high given the devastated state of the Ukrainian economy? ... Isn't it time to revise regulations and adopt NATO standards for the relationship between the state and arms manufacturers, especially considering the billions flowing from the budget into this sector?" Geraschenko wrote.
As earlier reported, a drone strike on the National Academy of Sciences building on Monday sparked a fire on the upper floors. The State Emergency Service reported one fatality and six injuries. Zelenskyy stated that three children were among the injured. Media reports identified the deceased as an assistant to Volodymyr Horbulin, the former head of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), while Horbulin himself was among the injured. The press service of the State Language Protection Commissioner reported that two academicians died in the Russian strike on the Academy building, and contact had been lost with several others. Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK, Valeriy Zaluzhny, confirmed that several people died in the Academy building as a result of the strike.
According to the State Emergency Service, the number of people injured in the Russian strike on the Dobrobut medical center in Holosiyivsky district has reached eight. The Kyiv police press service reported that the total number of people injured in the Russian drone attack on Kyiv has risen to 21, and one person has died.
