Russian attacks kill civilians in Ukraine as Zelenskyy seeks more western aid
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential house destroyed by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
Russian drones, missiles and artillery have killed at least 16 civilians and injured almost 100 others in Ukraine, officials said.
The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought guarantees of further western military aid for his country’s efforts to repel Russia’s invasion.
Russian forces have relentlessly blasted civilian areas of Ukraine throughout the war, which is now in its fourth year.
More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to the United Nations. Ukraine has also launched long-range drones against Russia, hitting residential areas.
Mr Zelenskyy was set to meet on Tuesday with western leaders attending a Nato summit in The Hague, Netherlands.
He is keen to lock in additional military support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s bigger army, as recent direct peace talks have delivered no progress on a possible settlement.
Key US military commitments to Ukraine left over from the Biden administration are expected to run out within months, according to analysts, and there is uncertainty over whether US President Donald Trump is willing to provide more.
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Dnipro hit multiple civilian sites in the central Ukrainian city around midday on Tuesday, killing seven people and injuring 70, local officials said.
In the nearby town of Samar, an attack killed two people and injured nine, Dnipro’s regional administration head Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram.
Russia also shelled residential neighbuorhoods and critical infrastructure across Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson, killing four civilians and wounding at least 11 others, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration.
In the Sumy region of north-eastern Ukraine, a drone attack late Monday killed three civilians, including a five-year-old boy, and injured six others, local authorities said.
Among the injured were two 17-year-old girls and a 12-year-old boy, according to officials.
Russian air defence forces overnight shot down 20 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Defence Ministry reported on Tuesday morning. It said 14 were downed over the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, while two had been flying over the Moscow province.
One drone slammed into a tower block on the outskirts of the Russian capital, sparking a fire on its 17th floor, local governor Andrei Vorobyov said on Tuesday. He said a 34-year-old resident suffered shrapnel wounds to his arm and leg. Two other drones were shot down on the approach to Moscow, according to mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Air traffic was briefly halted as a precaution at two major Moscow airports, a representative of Russia’s aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said.
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