Zelensky seeks beefed-up air defence

Kyiv – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West on Saturday 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.

“Russia continues to hit civilians,” Zelensky said. “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 on the back foot in the two-year war as a crucial $60 billion (about R1 trillion) aid package is held up in the US Congress.

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

About 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 on to residential buildings in Odesa and Kharkiv.

The attacks come as Russia seeks 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. –