Ukraine and Russia exchanged airstrikes over the weekend, apparently killing seven people and wounding dozens, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his country's beleaguered ally to help bolster its air defences.
Russian authorities claimed six of those people, including two children, were killed in a Ukrainian drone and missile attack on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a new attack with a Russian guided bomb killed at least one person and wounded 11 in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday, local authorities said.
Shocked residents watch as their homes are destroyed in an airstrike in central Kharkiv on Saturday. AFP via Getty Images Paramedics help an injured elderly woman after the same bombing in Kharkiv. AFP via Getty Images
In a video released after the attack, President Zelensky renewed his call for allies to send weapons to defend the country against such attacks.
“For Ukraine, we really need modern air defense systems like Patriot, accelerated training of F-16 fighter pilots, and most importantly, sufficient range of our weapons,” he said.
In Russia, five of the dead were hit by shrapnel from a Ukrainian missile dropped on the coastal area of ​​Sevastopol, a port city in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, according to Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-appointed mayor of Sevastopol.
Around 125 people were wounded in the attack, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Another person died in the Russian border city of Glyvoron, the regional governor announced.
The site of a Russian airstrike. Ukrainian authorities said one person was killed and 11 were wounded in Sunday's attack. Reuters The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than two years. Reuters Emergency workers try to put out fires at the site of a Russian airstrike. Reuters
The Russian Defense Ministry said both Ukraine and the United States were responsible for a “deliberate missile attack against civilians” and that a US ATACMS missile was used in the attack.
Russia also claimed that its air defense systems shot down 33 drones over western Ukraine.
There were no casualties or damage.
Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said half of the city had lost power after the Russian guided bomb attack.
Russian forces set off four more bombs in the city on Saturday afternoon, damaging a five-story residential building and killing three people.
The regional governor said Sunday that 41 people were injured and receiving treatment.
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian missile over the Kiev region last night, with falling shrapnel injuring two more people, Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oreshchuk said.
With post wire
