Cynical Putin's puppets offer fleeing Ukrainians safe haven in Russia

Ukraine is to be armed with new advanced air defense systems after Russian forces launched a string of drone and missile attacks.

The pledge of further support came as civilians were targeted on Thursday as payback for the bombing of a strategic bridge linking Russia with annexed Crimea. It was reported that as many as 18 died in the latest attacks, days after 17 were killed in similar bombardments.

Missiles killed at least three people and destroyed an apartment building in the southern city of Mykolaiv and heavy artillery damaged more than 30 houses, a hospital, a kindergarten and other buildings across a river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Russia has increasingly intensified its bombardment of civilians as its military lost ground in multiple occupied regions of Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin illegally claimed as Russian territory. Putin’s supporters urged him to escalate the campaign further to punish the invaded country for the Crimea bridge attack.

A police officer views a shopping area following a Russian missile attack earlier in Kupiansk (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

“We need to protect our sky from the terror of Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskky told international representatives at the Council of Europe.” “If this is done, it will be a fundamental step to end the entire war in the near future.”

The British government announced it would provide missiles for advanced NASAM anti-aircraft systems that the Pentagon plans to send to Ukraine in the coming weeks. The U.K. also is sending hundreds of aerial drones for information-gathering and logistics support, plus 18 howitzer artillery pieces.

"These weapons will help Ukraine defend its skies from attacks and strengthen their overall missile defence," U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.

Other NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels this week promised to supply systems offering medium- to long-range defence against missile attacks.

Meanwhile, the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, has called on civilians to evacuate, citing daily rocket attacks which he clamed on advancing Ukrainian forces.

He urged them to "save themselves" by going to Russia for "leisure and study", and asked for Moscow's help.

The call was later echoed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin in a message on state television.

Ukraine rejects accusations that it targets its own civilians and has insisted that the recent increase in attacks comes following the ‘Putin bridge’ blast, which temporarily halted all raid and road traffic from Russia to the annexed Crimea.

"The government took the decision to organise assistance for the departure of residents of the [Kherson] region to other regions of the country," said Mr Khusnullin, who has special responsibility for southern Russia and Crimea.

"We will provide everyone with free accommodation and everything necessary."

Mr Zelenskky’s forces have been using US-supplied Himars rocket systems to isolate and cripple key Russian-held military targets and threatening to cut off the bulk of the occupying forces on the west bank of the Dnipro Riber.

Germany has promised IRIS-T air defence systems with an offer from France of more artillery, anti-aircraft systems and missiles. The Netherlands said it would send missiles, and Canada said it would give about $50 million more in military aid.

Kherson is the only regional capital seized by Russian forces since Moscow's invasion began on February 24.

Earlier this month, President Putin declared the annexation of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in Ukraine's south, as well as Donetsk and Luhansk in the east.

Ukraine and its Western allies condemned the move, saying it had no legal power. The Kremlin does not fully control any of the four regions.

On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Russian annexation attempt.

Its resolution was supported by 143 countries while 35 states abstained in what was symbolically the largest vote ever against a single state.