KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least two people have been killed and three others wounded after a Russian missile attack on infrastructure in Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials confirmed that the death toll after a Russian attack on Friday in the city of Mykolaivhad risen to four. A child was among the victims, the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media about the attack on Mykolaiv that a projectile had hit a playground next to an apartment building.
“Russia proves every day with its terror that ‘pressure’ is not enough,” he said. “This destruction of life must be stopped. We need new solutions to support our defense. Russia must feel the power of the world.”
The Ukrainian air force reported on Saturday that Russia had fired four missiles and 17 drones the night before, of which 13 were shot down.
The attacks have left thousands of people without power or running water in the Poltava region of central Ukraine, Governor Filip Pronin said. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leading to blackouts across the country.
A crushing Russian assault in recent months has forced Kiev’s troops withdraw from some cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region,
The latest targets are the mining town of Toretsk and the city of Pokrovsk, where Russia is stepping up its attacks. Ukrainian forces have repelled 20 and 27 attacks on those areas respectively in 24 hours, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Friday. That was almost double the number of attacks registered on other flashpoints along the front line, it said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry also said Saturday it had shot down 26 Ukrainian drones over Russia’s southern Rostov region, several hundred kilometers (miles) from the front line. Three other drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region, and one over the Smolensk region, it said. No casualties were reported.