Zelenskyy Calls On Europe To Develop Air Defense After Latest Russian Attack

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Europe to push forward with an air defense umbrella after Russia again bombarded the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya, injuring at least 13 people, including two children.

Zelenskyy said in a social media post on September 16 that Russian rockets "struck deliberately to terrorize our people," damaging "many residential buildings" in the process.

He added that since the beginning of September, more than 3,500 drones and nearly 190 missiles, along with more than 2,500 aerial bombs, have been launched by Moscow at targets inside Ukraine, as well as "provocations against our partners."

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"This is precisely the kind of aerial terror against which Ukraine is calling for joint defense -- so that no one has to scramble combat aircraft in haste and feel Russia's pressure on their borders," Zelenskyy wrote.

"Now is the time to implement the joint protection of our European skies with a multilayered air defense system. All the technologies for this are already in place. What is needed are investments and determination -- strong actions and decisions from all our partners."

The issue of defending against Russia's drone capability, which has risen dramatically since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, has become a major talking point after more than a dozen Russian drones made an incursion into Poland last week, followed by another violation of NATO airspace by a Russian drone in Romania.

Zelenskyy said later in his evening address that while Ukraine has responded positively to proposals to hold peace talks, "Russian terror continues, and every single day, the Russians reject the possibility of ending this war – of ceasing fire and truly talking about peace."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on September 16 said she discussed tightening sanctions on Russia in a conversation with US President Donald Trump.

"I had a good call with [Trump] on strengthening our joint efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia through additional measures," she said on X.

"The Commission will soon present its 19th package of sanctions, targeting crypto, banks, and energy." von der Leyen said, indicating that Brussels is seeking to move faster.

"Russia's war economy, sustained by revenues from fossil fuels, is financing the bloodshed in Ukraine. To put an end to it, the Commission will propose speeding up the phase-out of Russian fossil imports," she said.

The 27-nation EU had already banned most imports of Russian oil, but Trump has demanded that all EU countries completely end purchases of Russian oil before he moves to place additional sanctions on Moscow.

The new EU measures are expected to target the Kremlin's so-called shadow fleet -- transport for Moscow to skirt sanctions -- third-country firms, and to blacklist a number of individuals, especially those deemed responsible for the abduction of Ukrainian children.

In her annual state of the European Union speech earlier this week, von der Leyen made it clear the bloc needs to up its drone defense as she committed to a 6 billion euro loan to enter a "drone alliance" with Ukraine.

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She floated an "Eastern Flank Watch" that she said will provide "real-time space surveillance" to track all aerial movement from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Von der Leyen also committed to building "a drone wall" -- something her own commission initially refused to fund when Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania asked for European cash earlier this year for such a venture.

There are few details about all this just yet: no concrete budget figures, precise geographical scope, or timeline other than that the European Commission is expected to present a roadmap with new common defense projects in October.

"In these border countries we need to create a 'drone wall' together with Ukraine and include Ukraine in this project," European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius told the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform on September 15.

SEE ALSO: Can NATO Countries Stop Buying Russian Oil, As Trump Demands?

Earlier on September 16 Zelenskyy told Sky News in an interview that a "clear position" is needed from Trump on sanctions against Russia and for security guarantees for Ukraine.

He also urged Trump, who arrived in Britain on September 16 for a state visit, to take "strong personal steps" to "stop Putin."

"I believe that the US is strong enough to take decisions of their own.... I believe Donald Trump can give us air defense systems in quantity and the US has enough," Zelenskyy said.

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"I'm sure the US can apply enough sanctions in order to hurt the Russian economy, plus Donald Trump has enough force to make Putin afraid of him. Europe has already introduced 18 sanctions packages against Russia. And all that's lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US."