KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian authorities said six people were killed and more than 100 wounded in a Ukrainian drone and missile attack on Sunday, while a second day of Russian air strikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed at least one person.
The dead included five people, two of them children, who were hit by remnants of a Ukrainian missile shot down off the coast of Sevastopol, a port city on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, said the city’s Moscow-appointed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev. One person was also killed in the Russian city of Graivolon in Belgorod Oblast, which borders Ukraine, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, the oblast’s governor.
Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti, citing the health ministry, said 124 people were wounded in Sevastopol. It said shrapnel from the rocket fell, sparking a forest fire of more than 150 square meters (1,600 square feet) and burning homes. It also said a fifth missile exploded over the city.
The Russian Defense Ministry said both Ukraine and the United States were “responsible for the deliberate missile attacks against civilians” and that US-supplied ATACMS missiles were used in the Ukrainian attack.
President Razvodzayev declared Monday a day of mourning in Sevastopol and canceled public events.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its air defenses had shot down 33 Ukrainian drones overnight over the western Russian regions of Bryansk, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Tula. No casualties or damage were reported.
A new attack in the city of Kharkiv on Sunday killed at least one person and wounded 11, local authorities said. Mayor Igor Terekhov said the city was hit with a guided bomb and that the attack left about half of the city without power.
Sunday’s attack came after Russia struck Kharkiv with four airstrikes on Saturday afternoon, hitting a five-story residential building and killing three people. Regional governor Ole Shnievbov said 41 people were wounded as of Sunday and were still receiving treatment.
Russia and Ukraine attack each other’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones https://t.co/SEpCuoTXve
—Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 21, 2024
In a video address after the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukraine’s partners to strengthen their air defenses.
“For Ukraine, we really need modern air defense systems like Patriot, accelerated training of F-16 fighter pilots, and most importantly, sufficient range of our weapons,” he said.
Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oreshchuk said two Russian missiles were shot down over the Kiev region last night, with falling shrapnel injuring two people.
Vadim Filashkin, governor of Ukraine’s partially occupied Donetsk region, said two people were killed and four wounded in Saturday’s Russian attack.
In other developments, the Ukrainian Navy released photos on Sunday confirming the destruction of a warehouse in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region that was used to launch and store Iranian-designed Shahed drones.
Navy officials said a drill instructor and a cadet were killed in the attack on Friday night. Moscow has not yet commented on the reports, but officials said its air defenses shot down a number of drones in the area on Friday night.
