The deadly attacks come as Russia continues to spread Ukrainian forces in areas along the eastern front.
Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed at least 12 people, including four children, as fighting intensifies during a series of offensives across several regions of the war-torn country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Saturday that the death toll in the village of Vilniansk – near the regional center of Zaporizhzhia – could rise.
“Seven people, including two children, were killed by a Russian missile attack in the Zaporizhzhia region,” Zelenskyy said on social media, calling on his Western allies to speed up arms deliveries.
“Any delay in decisions in this war means the loss of human life.”
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said 18 people – including four children – were also injured in Vilniansk, 30 km (18 miles) from the main city of Zaporizhzhia.
The attack occurred “in broad daylight, on a weekend, in a place where people spent their leisure time in the city center – without any military infrastructure”, said governor Ivan Fedorov.
Ukrainian authorities reported that strikes on Saturday killed four people and injured 23 in eastern villages, while rescuers in the central city of Dnipro sifted through the rubble after an attack destroyed a nine-story residential building, leaving one dead and 12 injured.
Saturday’s heavy attacks come as Russia continues to spread Ukrainian forces across several areas along the 1,000 km (600 mile) front. Moscow has stepped up airstrikes in an attempt to drain Ukraine of resources, often targeting energy facilities and other vital infrastructure.
The Ukrainian military stated: “The total number of hostile attacks along the entire front line has now increased to 90.” East Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin said Russian forces shelled populated areas 13 times in the past 24 hours.
Seven people, including two children, were killed in a Russian missile attack in the Zaporizhzhia region. At this time, we know of eleven injured people, three of whom are children. Unfortunately, the number of victims could still increase.
Our cities and communities suffer… pic.twitter.com/dbKQT8KTZK
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 29, 2024
Zelenskyy said the attack on Dnipro was a reminder to Ukraine’s allies that the country needs more air defense systems.
“This is why we constantly remind all our partners: only a sufficient amount of high-quality air defense systems, only a sufficient amount of determination from the world at large can stop Russian terror,” he said.
Fighting in Ukraine intensified in several directions after Russia launched offensives from several directions, taking advantage of the fact that Ukraine was militarily at a disadvantage.
Russian authorities also reported Ukrainian drone strikes killing at least five people in Russia’s Kursk region. Two children were among the victims in the village of Gorodishche, on the border between Russia and Ukraine, Governor Alexey Smirnov said on social media.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
