KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday slammed the US embassy for what he called a “weak” statement that did not blame Russia for a missile strike on his home town which killed 18 people, including nine children.
In one of the deadliest strikes in recent weeks, a Russian missile on Friday evening struck a residential area near a children’s playground in the central Ukrainian town of Kryvyi Rig, followed up by attack drones.
Seventy-two people were wounded, 12 of them children, Dnipropetrovsk governor Sergiy Lysak said after the end of emergency operations overnight, with city officials declaring three days of mourning.
Zelensky in an emotional statement on social media named each of the children killed in the attack, accusing the US embassy of avoiding referring to Russia as the aggressor.
“Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such a strong people — and such a weak reaction,” Zelensky wrote.
“They are even afraid to say the word ‘Russian’ when talking about the missile that killed the children.”
Zelensky singled out the United States for criticism as President Donald Trump has pushed for a partial ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine while seeking a thaw in ties with Moscow.
The Ukrainian president was taking aim at a message posted on X by US Ambassador Bridget Brink on Friday evening, which said: “Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant.”
Brink, who was appointed by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, has been ambassador since May 2022, added that “this is why the war must end.”
In recent posts on X she has not directly named Russia while referring to attacks on Ukraine, which she did regularly until mid-February, when Zelensky and Trump had an angry exchange in the Oval Office.
Zelensky wrote Saturday: “Yes, the war must end. But in order to end it, we must not be afraid to call a spade a spade.”
Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of Kryvyi Rig’s military administration, said three days of mourning had been declared on April 7, 8 and 9 in the city.
“This is nothing less than a mass murder of civilians,” he said.
Pictures circulated by rescue services showed several bodies, one stretched out near a playground swing.
“This is the kind of pain you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy,” Lysak said.
Russia’s defense ministry said it “delivered a precision strike with a high-explosive missile on a restaurant” in the city “where commanders of formations and Western instructors were meeting.”
The commander of the Ukrainian army retorted that Moscow was “trying to cover up its cynical crime” and “spreading false information” about the target of the strike.
He accused Russia of “war crimes.”
Trump, who said during his re-election campaign he could end the three-year conflict within days, is pushing the two sides to agree a ceasefire but his administration has failed to broker an accord acceptable to both.
Zelensky said the missile attack showed Russia had no interest in stopping its full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022.
“Russia does not want a ceasefire and we see it. The whole world sees it,” he said.
“The missile struck an area near residential buildings, a playground and ordinary streets,” he said. Then Russia launched attack drones “right during the rescue operation.”
“People who are capable of that kind of thing aren’t human,” Zelensky said.
Kryvyi Rig, in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the front line, and has regularly been targeted by Russian drones and missiles.
The Ukrainian leader was born in the industrial city, which had a pre-war population of around 600,000 people.
He said the children killed by the latest attack ranged in age from a three-year-old boy, Tymofiy, to a 17-year-old teenage boy, Nikita.
Zelensky on Friday met the heads of the British and French militaries in Kyiv to discuss a plan by London and Paris to send a “reassurance” force to Ukraine if and when a deal on ending the conflict is reached.
This is one of the latest efforts by European leaders to agree on a coordinated policy after Trump sidelined them and opened direct talks with the Kremlin.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of breaking a supposed deal to stop firing on energy sites, though a formal agreement has not been put in place.
Russia on Saturday once again claimed Ukraine targeted its energy infrastructure, with the defense ministry saying Kyiv had attacked 14 sites in the last 24 hours.
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Zelensky slams ‘weak’ US reply to Russian strike on his hometown
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Zelensky slams ‘weak’ US reply to Russian strike on his hometown
- “Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such a strong people — and such a weak reaction,” Zelensky wrote
- “They are even afraid to say the word ‘Russian’ when talking about the missile that killed the children“
Thai border clashes hit tourism at Cambodia’s Angkor temples
SIEM REAP: Chasing visitors around Cambodia’s Angkor temple ruins to offer his services, tour guide Bun Ratana says he has had little work since deadly clashes with Thailand broke out, despite it being high season.
The UNESCO heritage site lies in Siem Reap city, just a two-hour drive from the Thai border, which for more than two weeks has been roiled by military combat that has killed dozens.
Travel cancelations due to the conflict have left the centuries-old stone structures — Cambodia’s top tourist attraction — unusually quiet and businesses desperate.
With more than 10 canceled tours in December alone, Bun Ratana said his income has plunged by around 80 percent, to just $150, compared to the same month last year.
He blamed the renewed fighting, rooted in a border dispute dating to the colonial era.
But he is hopeful tourists will return to the Angkor archaeological park — home to scores of temple ruins from the Khmer Empire, including the Bayon Temple and top attraction, Angkor Wat.
“Some tourists are scared, but here in Siem Reap it is safe,” Bun Ratana told AFP.
After the dispute flared with fresh fighting in May, the neighbors shuttered overland crossings.
Tour operators, vendors and drivers in Siem Reap and Bangkok say the closures and renewed clashes in July and this month have sharply hit business.
Founder of tour agency Journey Cambodia, Ream Boret, told AFP bookings were down.
Outside Angkor Wat, tuk-tuk driver Nov Mao said his income had halved since the clashes began.
- ‘They may be scared’ -
Tourism makes up around a tenth of Cambodia’s GDP, with a record-breaking 6.7 million arrivals last year.
But ticket sales to Angkor were down at least 17 percent year-on-year from June to November, according to Angkor Enterprise — spiralling after July’s five-day clashes killed dozens.
Unlike past Decembers, quietness has fallen over the park, as local and foreign tourists have “disappeared,” said T-shirt vendor Run Kea.
“I think they may be scared... I am scared too,” the 40-year-old said, adding she was only making a fraction of her usual earnings.
Around 420 kilometers (260 miles) away in the Thai capital, minivans that once plied the six-hour route shuttling tourists to Angkor Wat sit idle since border crossings were closed to tourists earlier this year.
Tour agencies told AFP that bus trips to the border had ceased, and uncertainty had hit tourism in Thailand too.
Thai owner of Lampoo Ocean Travel Prasit Chankliang said when customers ask if they could travel to Cambodia, “we can only tell them that they can’t go — and there’s nothing we can tell them about when they might be able to travel again.”
- ‘Very safe’ -
Arnaud Darc, hospitality industry expert and CEO of Cambodia-based Thalias Group, said the local tourism industry relied heavily on the Angkor temples and a few entry points to the country, especially overland routes via neighboring nations.
“Disruption is concentrated in overland regional travel, not in global demand for Cambodia,” he said, citing fewer Thai visitors but more Chinese arrivals.
Several foreign tourists at Cambodia’s most famous temple complex told AFP they had not been put off traveling by the conflict.
An American tourist called Dorothy said she wasn’t worried about visiting Angkor as she was clued in to travel logistics and border rules, saying she felt “very safe.”
“We are very happy that we came here and we feel safe at the moment,” said German visitor Kay Florek, who arrived in Siem Reap with her family despite hearing news of combat.
But experts say fear persists, which has been worsened by widespread media reports and a blockbuster movie about Internet scam networks run by criminal groups across the region.
At cyberscam compounds, mostly in Cambodia and Myanmar, thousands of willing and trafficked scammers con victims out of billions of dollars a year with romance and investment schemes, monitors say.
“Sadly, the reality on the ground is that Cambodia’s top tourism hotspots are safe — but the headlines have done damage already,” said Hannah Pearson, director of Southeast Asia tourism consultancy Pear Anderson.
Like Cambodia, she said Thailand had also recorded fewer visitors this year, “triggered initially by worries over scam centers” and worsened by the border clashes.
Director of Siem Reap’s provincial tourism department Thim Sereyvudh admitted that Cambodia’s reputation as a host of transnational scammers had hurt the industry.
But he was confident tourists would return to Angkor Wat after the fighting ceased.
“The sooner the war ends,” he said, “the sooner they will come back.”
The UNESCO heritage site lies in Siem Reap city, just a two-hour drive from the Thai border, which for more than two weeks has been roiled by military combat that has killed dozens.
Travel cancelations due to the conflict have left the centuries-old stone structures — Cambodia’s top tourist attraction — unusually quiet and businesses desperate.
With more than 10 canceled tours in December alone, Bun Ratana said his income has plunged by around 80 percent, to just $150, compared to the same month last year.
He blamed the renewed fighting, rooted in a border dispute dating to the colonial era.
But he is hopeful tourists will return to the Angkor archaeological park — home to scores of temple ruins from the Khmer Empire, including the Bayon Temple and top attraction, Angkor Wat.
“Some tourists are scared, but here in Siem Reap it is safe,” Bun Ratana told AFP.
After the dispute flared with fresh fighting in May, the neighbors shuttered overland crossings.
Tour operators, vendors and drivers in Siem Reap and Bangkok say the closures and renewed clashes in July and this month have sharply hit business.
Founder of tour agency Journey Cambodia, Ream Boret, told AFP bookings were down.
Outside Angkor Wat, tuk-tuk driver Nov Mao said his income had halved since the clashes began.
- ‘They may be scared’ -
Tourism makes up around a tenth of Cambodia’s GDP, with a record-breaking 6.7 million arrivals last year.
But ticket sales to Angkor were down at least 17 percent year-on-year from June to November, according to Angkor Enterprise — spiralling after July’s five-day clashes killed dozens.
Unlike past Decembers, quietness has fallen over the park, as local and foreign tourists have “disappeared,” said T-shirt vendor Run Kea.
“I think they may be scared... I am scared too,” the 40-year-old said, adding she was only making a fraction of her usual earnings.
Around 420 kilometers (260 miles) away in the Thai capital, minivans that once plied the six-hour route shuttling tourists to Angkor Wat sit idle since border crossings were closed to tourists earlier this year.
Tour agencies told AFP that bus trips to the border had ceased, and uncertainty had hit tourism in Thailand too.
Thai owner of Lampoo Ocean Travel Prasit Chankliang said when customers ask if they could travel to Cambodia, “we can only tell them that they can’t go — and there’s nothing we can tell them about when they might be able to travel again.”
- ‘Very safe’ -
Arnaud Darc, hospitality industry expert and CEO of Cambodia-based Thalias Group, said the local tourism industry relied heavily on the Angkor temples and a few entry points to the country, especially overland routes via neighboring nations.
“Disruption is concentrated in overland regional travel, not in global demand for Cambodia,” he said, citing fewer Thai visitors but more Chinese arrivals.
Several foreign tourists at Cambodia’s most famous temple complex told AFP they had not been put off traveling by the conflict.
An American tourist called Dorothy said she wasn’t worried about visiting Angkor as she was clued in to travel logistics and border rules, saying she felt “very safe.”
“We are very happy that we came here and we feel safe at the moment,” said German visitor Kay Florek, who arrived in Siem Reap with her family despite hearing news of combat.
But experts say fear persists, which has been worsened by widespread media reports and a blockbuster movie about Internet scam networks run by criminal groups across the region.
At cyberscam compounds, mostly in Cambodia and Myanmar, thousands of willing and trafficked scammers con victims out of billions of dollars a year with romance and investment schemes, monitors say.
“Sadly, the reality on the ground is that Cambodia’s top tourism hotspots are safe — but the headlines have done damage already,” said Hannah Pearson, director of Southeast Asia tourism consultancy Pear Anderson.
Like Cambodia, she said Thailand had also recorded fewer visitors this year, “triggered initially by worries over scam centers” and worsened by the border clashes.
Director of Siem Reap’s provincial tourism department Thim Sereyvudh admitted that Cambodia’s reputation as a host of transnational scammers had hurt the industry.
But he was confident tourists would return to Angkor Wat after the fighting ceased.
“The sooner the war ends,” he said, “the sooner they will come back.”
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