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Odesa - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to supply more air-defense systems urgently as Russian assaults, employing missiles, drones, and artillery, have led to the deaths of at least 11 individuals.
Among these attacks was a drone strike in Odesa, resulting in eight fatalities, including a child and an infant, while shelling in Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia claimed three lives. Zelensky stressed the necessity for enhanced air defenses to shield civilians from Russian offensives.
Russia's recent progress has left Ukraine in a challenging position, exacerbated by delays in Western assistance delivery. Zelensky appealed to the West to promptly furnish additional air-defense systems as a barrage of Russian missile, drone, and artillery strikes claimed the lives of at least 11 people.
Separate shelling incidents in the frontline regions of Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south resulted in three casualties, as per Ukrainian authorities.
"Russia continues to target civilians," Zelensky declared in a social media post.
"We require increased air defenses from our allies. Strengthening the Ukrainian airspace is crucial to provide additional protection for our citizens against Russian aggression. More air-defense systems and missiles for air-defense systems save lives."
As Ukraine grapples with the ongoing conflict, a vital $60 billion aid package remains pending in the United States Congress.
In Odesa, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko reported via Telegram on Saturday that "a nine-storey building was demolished as a result of an assault by Russian militants."
Approximately 10 individuals are still unaccounted for, with nearly 100 rescuers slated to continue search and rescue operations overnight.
The Ukrainian air force noted that falling debris from Russian drones, which they had downed, landed on residential buildings in both Odesa and Kharkiv.
The attacks coincide with Russia's efforts to capitalize on its battlefield advantage. Kyiv has acknowledged being significantly outmatched and outnumbered, facing shortages of ammunition and delays in aid delivery. The defense minister disclosed that half of all pledged Western ammunition arrives late.
Russian forces have made westward advances subsequent to capturing the key eastern town of Avdiivka last month, seizing several small villages in recent days.
While visiting frontline military posts on Saturday, Ukraine's new Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky asserted that "the situation at the front remains challenging but under control."
Kyiv apparently launched its own drone attack overnight, with the Russian defense ministry claiming on Sunday to have downed 38 drones over the occupied Crimea territory.
A suspected Ukrainian drone damaged a residential building in Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, the previous day. Videos circulating on Russian social media showed a drone spiraling downwards into the building, causing an explosion that shattered windows and ignited small fires.
The National Guard division in the city speculated that the damage resulted from a "falling drone." Ukrainian media reported that the drone was shot down by Russia's air defenses while targeting an oil depot about a kilometer away from the crash site.
Kyiv has targeted several Russian oil facilities in recent months, citing retaliation for Moscow's assaults on Ukraine's power grid.
Russia's Investigative Committee stated separately that four of its personnel sustained injuries when a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives over the Bryansk border region.
Russia also expressed outrage at the leak of confidential discussions within the German army, purportedly involving officers deliberating missile strikes on the annexed Crimean peninsula.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a thorough investigation after the head of Russia's state-run RT outlet shared the purported leaked recording on social media.
A spokesperson for the German defense ministry acknowledged on Saturday that a private air force conversation had been intercepted but could not confirm if any alterations had been made to the conversation in the leaked audio file.
Russia's foreign ministry demanded a swift explanation from Berlin, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov contended that the leak revealed Ukraine's European supporters' intention to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia on the battlefield.