A Russian drone strike on Ukraine’s second-largest city killed two people and wounded 35 late on Saturday, officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Kyiv’s partners to respond to such attacks while seeking peace in the three-year-old war.
Advertisement
The strike on the eastern city of Kharkiv, which damaged a military hospital among other structures, came as Ukraine seeks strong backing from Western allies to pressure Russia into ending its full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said five children were wounded in the attack, which also damaged several dozen residential buildings and a dormitory housing war refugees.
One survivor, who identified himself as Anton, described running to an adjacent room in his flat when a drone struck and showered him with shrapnel.
“I had already bid farewell to life,” said the 22-year-old, whose head and left hand were heavily bandaged.
Advertisement
Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday that Russia had launched 111 drones and one ballistic missile overnight, causing damage in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa and Donetsk regions. It said air defences shot down 65 drones and jammed another 35.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a daily bulletin its forces had struck 140 districts in Ukraine, including military airfields and ammunition depots. It did not mention the hospital.