(Kyiv) Several Russian strikes left at least three dead and 28 injured on Wednesday, notably in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, pushing Kyiv to demand more modern Patriot air defense systems from its Western allies.
In Kharkiv, which had nearly a million and a half inhabitants before the war, a Russian missile killed at least one person and injured 16, including four children, by hitting apartment buildings, according to local authorities.
“The enemy today struck Kharkiv with a large-caliber guided missile for the first time,” said Oleg Synegoubov, the region’s governor.
It borders the northern border with Russia and regularly finds itself under fire from Russian troops.
PHOTO ANDRII MARIENKO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In Kharkiv, a Russian missile killed at least one person and injured 16.
Four people had already been injured in nighttime bombings and a drone attack in the region, Synegoubov said earlier.
Two more people were killed in strikes elsewhere in Ukraine on Wednesday.
The governor of the Kherson region (south) explained that a 61-year-old woman had lost her life in her house during a drone attack on the village of Mykhaïlivka, located on one of the banks of the Dnieper, the river which demarcates the front line in this area.
And one person was killed by artillery fire in Nikopol, a town in the southeast, lamented the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Serguiï Lyssak.
Eight civilians were also injured in Mykolaiv, a large city in southern Ukraine, in a ballistic missile attack, according to its mayor Oleksandr Sienkevich.
190 missiles in one week
Ukraine is asking its Western allies to send it more aid, and faster. But, in Brussels as in Washington, political divisions have hampered the delivery of arms and funds in recent months.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba stressed on Wednesday that a solid anti-aircraft defense would “save thousands of lives”, reduce the damage inflicted on infrastructure in Ukraine and help soldiers on the front.
In this regard, he called on countries with American sophisticated Patriot surface-to-air missile systems to transfer them to Ukraine, to which the first battery of this type was delivered in April 2023.
Mr. Kouleba assured that Russia had recently intensified its air attacks, with, according to him, the firing of 190 missiles and the sending of 700 guided bombs between March 18 and 24.
“Current Russian attacks are characterized by the intensive use of ballistic missiles, which can reach their target very quickly, leaving little time for civilians to take shelter,” insisted the minister.
Zelensky with his soldiers
President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, visited the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine on Wednesday to inspect the new defense lines his country began hastily erecting a few weeks ago to stop the Russian push.
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENCY PHOTO, PROVIDED BY REUTERS
President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to northeastern Ukraine to inspect new defense lines his country began hastily erecting weeks ago to halt the Russian push.
“The construction of fortifications continues in the Sumy region. I inspected trenches, shelters, firing, command and observation positions,” he wrote on Telegram, assuring that Ukraine was “strengthening its defenses.”
The Russians have increased massive bombings on Ukraine, particularly since last week, presenting them as retaliation.
Ukraine said it had intercepted 10 of 13 drones launched by Moscow’s army overnight, while Russia claimed to have destroyed Ukrainian projectiles fired by rocket launcher systems in the Belgorod border region.
According to its governor, Viatcheslav Gladkov, a man was injured “by shrapnel” in this area which has been plagued by numerous attacks.
reference: www.lapresse.ca