Zelensky Pushes Sweden to Give Ukraine Fighter Jets

Russia accused Ukraine on Sunday of launching a series of drone attacks, including one that slightly wounded five people and another that forced airports in Moscow to close briefly, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine vowed a military response to a Russian missile strike that killed seven people.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine’s military about the reported drone attacks in Russia. While Ukrainian officials typically do not claim responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, Mr. Zelensky — who arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday after a visit to Sweden — has suggested in recent weeks that the strikes are part of his government’s strategy.

Evidence suggests that the government in Kyiv has increasingly deployed drones, including a model capable of flying hundreds of miles.

In recent weeks, drones have struck military and infrastructure targets, adding another dimension to a counteroffensive launched in June. The attacks also appear to aim to carry some of the pain caused by Moscow’s relentless attacks on Ukrainian civilians back to Russia.

Nearly 9,500 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the Kremlin launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine, according to United Nations data, a figure that dwarfs Russian civilian casualties.

A Ukrainian drone struck the roof of the train station in the Russian city of Kursk, according to the official in charge of the region, which borders northeastern Ukraine. The regional governor, Roman Starovoit, said on the Telegram messaging app that three people had been taken to hospital but have since been discharged and two others were slightly wounded and refused treatment.

Russian forces in Rostov region, which borders eastern Ukraine, thwarted a drone attack, according to Tass, the state news agency, which quoted the regional governor, Vasily Golubev.

Also on Sunday, Russia’s aviation watchdog said it had briefly halted flights to Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports in response to attempted drone attacks, according to Reuters.

“The leadership of Russia’s Aerospace Forces is highly likely under intense pressure to improve air defenses over western Russia,” said a report on Sunday by Britain’s defense intelligence agency. “In recent months, the range of threats penetrating well inside Russia has increased.”

There was no explicit link between the strikes and Mr. Zelensky’s comments in which he vowed to respond to a Russian attack on Saturday on the city of Chernihiv, which lies around 80 miles northeast of the capital, Kyiv. A 6-year-old named Sofia died in the attack along with six others and 144 people were wounded including 15 children, he said.

“The missile just hit the center of the city,” he said in an overnight speech. “I am sure our soldiers will respond to Russia for this terrorist attack. Respond tangibly.”

In a cruel irony, the missiles struck the Taras Shevchenko Theater in the city, which had been hosting a meeting of business people and volunteers, according to the head of the regional military administration, Viacheslav Chaus, who wrote on Telegram. The theater had been hosting an exhibition on drones at the time of the attack, according to Maria Berlinska, a co-organizer of the exhibition, in a post on Facebook.

Amid heavy fighting, Ukraine has recaptured some villages and regained some territory in the south and east of the country since it launched its counteroffensive but is yet to make a decisive breach of Moscow’s lines in the face of stiff Russian resistance, stoutly defended barriers and numerous minefields.

Asked about the pace of the counteroffensive, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called for caution in making assessments and emphasized the need for the country’s allies to deliver more military aid.

“What we really need are more long-term capabilities for achieving more short-term results,” he said in an interview with the German newspaper Bild.

For months, the government in Kyiv has called on the United States and other NATO countries to supply F-16 fighter jets to supplement its Soviet-era fleet, but last week the government acknowledged that they would not arrive this year — so will be too late for its current military push.

Ukraine has now resumed a push to obtain Swedish Gripen warplanes, and Mr. Zelensky said during a visit to Sweden this week that the country was “getting closer” to obtaining them. He also reached a more tangible agreement on Saturday involving the supply of armored vehicles.

Ukraine has received Soviet-era jets from Poland and Slovakia, but is yet to outmatch Russian air power. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden did not mention the combat planes during a news conference with Mr. Zelensky on Saturday.

Sweden has so far refused to send Gripens to Ukraine, with officials saying that the jets — built by Saab — are needed to defend its own borders. Russia’s invasion prompted Sweden, and neighboring Finland, to apply to join NATO. Finland has since become a member of the alliance, but Sweden’s application has been held up by Turkey.

On Saturday, Sweden and Ukraine announced a preliminary agreement covering production, repair and training for Sweden’s CV90 infantry fighting vehicle. So far in the war, Mr. Kristersson said, Sweden has given $2.2 billion euros, or about $2.4 billion, in aid to Ukraine, including the CV90s, Leopard tanks, Archer artillery systems and mine-clearing equipment.

“No task is more important than supporting Ukraine in its fight for freedom and territorial integrity,” Mr. Kristersson, the Swedish leader, said. “Ukraine is fighting for us, for all European democracies.”