March 2, 2024, 09:57 GMT
Updated 1 hour ago
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The strike in Odessa destroyed 18 apartments, said President Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to supply more air defense systems after an attack on Odessa left at least five people dead.
A three-year-old was among the victims of a Russian drone in the southern city, officials said. Two more people died in strikes elsewhere in Ukraine.
“Russia continues to wage war against the civilian population,” said President Zelensky.
The commander-in-chief of the armed forces has announced that he will replace some military leaders on the Eastern Front.
In a post on Telegram on Saturday, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said a nine-story building was destroyed as a result of an “attack by Russian terrorists” in Odessa.
Footage from the crime scene showed that several floors of a residential building had been destroyed.
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Several residents of the damaged apartment block are still missing
At least five people, including the 3-year-old child, were killed, eight were injured and several are still missing, officials said.
Separately, they said one person was killed in the Kharkiv region near the Russian border and another in the southern Kherson region.
In a post on social media, Mr Zelensky said: “We need more air defense from our partners. We must strengthen the Ukrainian air raid shield to provide our people with greater protection from Russian terror. More air defense systems and more missiles for air defense. Systems save lives.”
The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 14 or 17 Russian-launched drones overnight.
Russian forces have fired thousands of Iranian-made drones at Ukrainian targets since invading Ukraine more than two years ago.
In retaliation, Ukraine has targeted Russian sites, particularly oil facilities.
Image source: Getty Images
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Emergency service specialists work on a damaged apartment block following a suspected drone attack reported by local media in Saint Petersburg
On Saturday, a drone hit a residential building in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city. About 100 people have been evacuated and there are no reports of casualties, officials say.
Some Russian media said the incident may have been caused by a downed Ukrainian drone heading toward a fuel depot. There is no official confirmation of this from the Kremlin.
The large-scale invasion of Ukraine launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin is now in its third year.
Early Saturday, the commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, signaled that he would replace some commanders on the Eastern Front.
Avdiivka was embroiled in bitter fighting for months. This week, the Ukrainian military withdrew from two nearby villages and lost more territory as Western allies ran low on weapons and ammunition supplies.
Image source: Getty Images
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Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, spent three days on the Eastern Front
General Syrskyi said he would replace those commanders whose orders and actions threatened the lives of troops.
He wrote on Telegram: “I have sent groups of specialists to individual brigades where there are problems with headquarters preparation, to transfer experience and provide assistance.”
General Syrskyi praised some brigades and, after listening to front-line units, promised to provide them with reserves, ammunition and expertise.
He stressed that the situation at the front remained “difficult but under control.”