Zelensky offers condolences on Texas school shooting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is offering condolences to the families of the victims in Tuesday’s school shooting in Texas.

“Deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas,” Zelensky said in a tweet as his country battles Russian forces that invaded Ukraine in February.

“Sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the US and @POTUS over this tragedy. The people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans,” he added.

His comments came after 19 children and two adults were killed in Tuesday’s shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Authorities said the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was also dead. 

The shooting took place at Robb Elementary School, which has students in the second, third and fourth grades. It was the deadliest shooting to take place at a U.S. school since 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister, Dmytro Kuleba, also offered his condolences in a Wednesday tweet.

“Horrible news from Uvalde, Texas,” he said. “Our deepest sympathy is with the victims and their families. As a nation that goes through the pain of losing innocent young lives, Ukraine shares the pain of our U.S. friends.”

At least 257 Ukrainian children have died since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. However, the agency has said it “believes that the actual figures are considerably higher.”

The Texas school shooting, which follows another mass shooting this month in which 10 people were killed in a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket, has increased pressure on Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to bring gun control legislation to the floor before the July 4 recess.

“We need to vote. We need to hold every member of the Senate accountable. Every one of us should be put on the record,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. A Senate subcommittee Blumenthal chairs held a series of hearings last year to address gun violence.