Russian bombings sweep across Ukraine, killing one and injuring dozens – Firstpost

At least one person was killed and over three dozen injured after Russian forces stepped up bombing raids on Ukrainian cities overnight, authorities said Friday.

“Terrorists attacked our cities and towns throughout the evening and night. “Missiles, drones and glide bombs were used against the Odessa, Kharkiv and Kiev regions,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.

“It is important to act together and decisively at the international level every time Russia tries to destroy our lives,” he said, calling on allies to provide more military aid.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched a large-scale attack overnight, firing five missiles, 92 drones and glide bombs over several regions. The Air Force intercepted four missiles and 62 drones, and another 26 drones were electronically jammed. However, the glide bombs, against which Ukraine currently has no effective defense, hit targets with devastating effect.

One person was killed and nine injured in a Russian drone strike in Odessa, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. In Kiev, four people were injured by debris from intercepted rockets, regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported. The attacks left widespread damage and underscore the increasing intensity of Russian airstrikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needs more help to defend itself against Russia's military might, even as uncertainty grows over what Western help Ukraine can expect after Donald Trump was elected the next U.S. president this week .

“It is important to act together and decisively at the international level every time Russia tries to destroy our lives,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “This is the only way we can achieve a just peace and stop the deaths of our people.”

Russia shot down around 2,000 drones against Ukraine in October, about a third more than the previous month. This was the third month in a row in which there was a significant increase, the British Ministry of Defense announced on Friday.

Russian fire rates have increased since the middle of the year, it said, adding that recent high monthly numbers were likely to become the norm.

Fear of US aid

Four people were injured near Kiev, which has come under almost daily attacks over the past month and where AFP journalists heard air raid sirens and at least one explosion over the capital.

In the historic Black Sea city of Odessa, one person was killed and nine others injured in an attack that damaged residential buildings, authorities said.

Authorities in the partially occupied southern Kherson region later said a 74-year-old man had been killed by Russian fire.

The latest night of deadly attacks comes at a critical moment in the war the Kremlin started nearly three years ago.

Ukrainian armed forces are losing ground in the east of the country and concerns are growing in Kiev about the future of foreign military aid following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

The city of Zaporizhzhia, where authorities said more than 40 people were injured in Thursday's attack, has also fallen victim to increasing Russian airstrikes in recent weeks.

A strike in an industrial area of ​​the city killed six people earlier this week.

At the end of 2022, the Kremlin claimed to have annexed, in addition to the Donetsk region, the wider Zaporizhia region, where Russian forces are rapidly advancing despite not having full military control over it.

Russian officials in occupied Ukrainian territory in Donetsk, meanwhile, said Ukrainian drones killed two utility company employees.

With input from agencies.