Russia launches deadly missile, drone attacks across Ukraine

Russia fired cruise and ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones at six regions across Ukraine on Wednesday morning, authorities reported, killing at least three civilians and injuring 14 others, including a pregnant woman.

The attacks targeted at least three major cities, including the capital Kyiv, where the European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell was discussing military aid and financial support for Ukraine.

He said he started his day in an air raid shelter, calling it part of Ukraine’s “daily reality” after almost two years of war.

The West’s help is desperately needed by Ukraine, which is struggling with ammunition and personnel shortages. Some long-term foreign funding is also in doubt as the latest effort to clinch a deal on Ukraine aid in the United States Senate collapsed on Tuesday.

Though the roughly 1,500-kilometer (900-mile) front line has barely budged in recent months, the Kremlin’s forces have the upper hand in stocks of missiles and artillery ammunition used for longrange strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month that air defense and electronic warfare systems that can stop drones were Kyiv’s top priorities.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces said they intercepted 44 drones and missiles out of the 64 launched in the morning attack.

The barrage killed two people in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said.

The attack also killed a man in the southern city of Mykolaiv, where some 20 residential buildings and public infrastructure were damaged, said Vitalii Kim, the Mykolaiv regional governor.

Thirteen people were injured in the Ukrainian capital, Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said, including a pregnant woman.

Apartment buildings caught fire in several Kyiv districts, he added. Two power lines damaged during the attack left some residents on Kyiv’s east bank without power.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, a 52-year-old woman was slightly injured in an S-300 missile attack, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.

Missiles also hit as far away as the western Lviv region, where a fire broke out, officials said.