39 killed across Ukraine in major Russian attack

KYIV: Rescuers in Ukraine searched through rubble Saturday after Russian strikes killed at least 39 people the day before, one of the fiercest attacks since the early days of the war.

Schools, a maternity hospital, shopping arcades and blocks of flats were among the buildings hit in Friday’s barrage, Ukrainian officials said.

The strikes -- during which a Russian missile passed through Polish airspace -- triggered international condemnation and fresh promises of military support to Ukraine, which has been fighting off invading Russian troops since late February 2022.

Ukraine’s military estimated Russia had launched 158 missiles and drones on Ukraine and 114 of them had been destroyed.

Air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told AFP that this was a “record number” of missiles and “the most massive missile attack” of the war, excluding the early days of constant bombardment. Russia tried to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences across most major cities, launching a wave of Shahed attack drones followed by missiles of numerous types fired from planes and from Russian-controlled territory.

At least 39 people were killed in Friday’s strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“In total, 159 people were injured in this terrorist attack. Unfortunately, 39 of them have been killed so far,” he said.

Russia’s army said it had “carried out 50 group strikes and one massive strike” on military facilities in Ukraine over the past week, adding that “all targets were hit”.

The United Nations condemned the attacks and said they must stop “immediately”.

Poland reported that a Russian missile passed through its airspace.

“Everything indicates that a Russian missile entered Polish airspace... It also left,” said General Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the general staff of the Polish armed forces.

In the face of sustained Russian assaults, Ukraine is urging Western allies to maintain military support.

Ukraine presidential aide Andriy Yermak said Kyiv needed “more support and strength to stop this terror”.

US President Joe Biden called on Congress to overcome its division to approve new aid for Ukraine, after Washington released its final package of weaponry under existing agreements still to be renewed by Congress.

Britain announced it would send hundreds more air defence missiles to Kyiv, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared that “We must continue to stand with Ukraine -- for as long as it takes”.

The strikes targeted at least six Ukrainian regions including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the west, Dnipro in the east and Odesa in the south.