Zelensky urges Western air defence as Russian attacks kill 11

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to rapidly deliver more air-defence systems as a wave of Russian missile, drone and artillery strikes killed at least 11 people.

Eight were confirmed dead, including a child and a baby, after an overnight drone strike on the southern port city of Odesa, a regional official said.

Separate shelling attacks on the frontline regions of Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south killed another three people, Ukrainian officials said.

“Russia continues to hit civilians,” Zelensky said in a post on social media.

“We need more air defences from our partners. We need to strengthen the Ukrainian air shield to add more protection for our people from Russian terror. More air-defence systems and more missiles for air-defence systems save lives.”

Ukraine is currently on the back foot in the two-year war as a crucial $60 billion aid package is held up in the United States Congress.

In Odesa, “a nine-storey building was destroyed as a result of an attack by Russian terrorists”, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said in a Telegram post Saturday.

Around 10 people were still unaccounted for, with almost 100 rescuers set to continue a search and rescue operation overnight.

Footage from the scene showed several floors of a residential building collapsed and its facade ripped off.

Ukraine’s air force said falling debris from Russian drones it had shot down fell onto residential buildings in both Odesa and Kharkiv.

The attacks came as Russia sought to press its advantage on the battlefield.

Kyiv has acknowledged that it is heavily outgunned and outnumbered, facing ammunition shortages and aid delays.

Half of all promised Western ammunition arrives late, the defence minister has said.

Russian forces have advanced westwards following last month’s capture of the key eastern town of Avdiivka, seizing several small villages in recent days.