Five killed in Russian drone, missile attacks on Ukrainian towns, Zelenskyy calls for stronger defences

At least five people were killed overnight as Russian drone and missile attacks struck Ukrainian towns and cities, according to local officials on Saturday. Moscow’s forces also pressed on with their ongoing advance in the country’s east.

A missile strike on an apartment building in the city of Poltava resulted in at least four deaths and left 10 others injured, as reported by Ukraine’s emergency services.

The five-story building partially collapsed after the strike, and rescue teams saved 21 people from the rubble, said Volodymyr Kohut, the acting governor of the Poltava region. Rescue operations are still ongoing at the site.

In another incident, a 60-year-old woman was killed by falling debris from a downed drone in the Kharkiv region, according to local Governor Oleh Syniehubov’s social media post.

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These attacks come as Russian forces continue their extended campaign to seize the crucial Donetsk strongholds of Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar, battling through farmland and forests while overwhelming small rural villages.

“Last night, Russia launched an attack on our cities using various types of weapons: missiles, attack drones, and aerial bombs,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media Saturday.

“Every such act of terror proves that we need greater support in defending against Russian terror. Every air defense system, every interceptor missile, means a life saved.” The full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, which began nearly three years ago and shows no signs of ending, has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations.

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Many have been evacuated from areas along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line where Ukrainian defenses are straining to hold the bigger Russian army at bay.

Civilians have also endured hardship caused by Russian attacks on the power grid that have denied them heating and running water. Saturday’s missile attack prompted emergency power grid shutdowns in seven Ukrainian regions, including Poltava, state energy company Ukrenergo said.

Ukrainian strikes also hit Russia, with air defenses intercepting nine drones across the country’s Bryansk, Belgorod and Saratov regions, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday morning.

With inputs from agencies