Zelensky: Russian strikes near chemical plants ‘just madness’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said that Russia’s airstrikes near chemical plants in his country are “no longer surprising” but “just madness.”

“Given the presence of large-scale chemical production in Severodonetsk, the Russian army’s strikes there, including blind air bombing, are just madness,” Zelensky said.

“But on the 97th day of such a war, it is no longer surprising that for the Russian military, for Russian commanders, for Russian soldiers, any madness is absolutely acceptable,” he added.

The president also specifically said areas like Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Kurakhove are “at the epicenter of the confrontation.”

“Everyone at all levels must now be lobbyists for the supply of modern heavy weapons and modern artillery to our state. All those systems that can really speed up the victory of Ukraine,” Zelensky continued. 

His remarks come as the Biden administration announced that it would ​​send long-range rocket systems as part of a $700 million weapons package to the besieged country. 

The package, which includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, is intended to repel Russian systems but not to be used to strike Russian territory.

“We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table,” Biden said in a guest essay for The New York Times published Tuesday.

“That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine,” he added.

Approximately $4 billion in U.S. aid has been sent to Ukraine since Russia began its invasion on Feb. 24.