Russian drone hits Ukrainian port city Odesa :Three killed

FE Team | Published: March 02, 2024 22:43:42

KYIV, Mar 02 (AP/AFP): Three people were killed when a Russian drone hit an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said Saturday.
A further eight people sustained injuries, authorities said.
Ukraine's Armed Forces reported that the Odesa region was attacked by eight drones, of which seven were shot down by air defenses.
Across the country more widely, air defenses shot down 14 of 17 drones launched against Ukraine, according to the country's Armed Forces.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported Saturday morning that over 20 settlements in the eastern Ukrainian province had sustained Russian artillery and mortar attacks, while high-rise buildings in the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, were damaged by a drone attack.
He said that there were no casualties, but that three people suffered an "acute stress reaction."
In the partly occupied Kherson region, Russian artillery shelling killed a 53-year-old man on Saturday morning, the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office said.
In Russia, a drone crashed into an apartment building in St. Petersburg Saturday morning, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Six people received medical help after the explosion rocked the building, the agency said, citing the press service of the city's health care committee.
Zelensky for more Western
air defence systems
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday urged the West to deliver more air defence systems after five people were killed in the latest Russian strikes.
Overnight aerial attacks claimed three lives in the southern port city of Odesa, while shelling killed one person in the Kharkiv region near the Russian border and another in the frontline Kherson region, Ukrainian officials said.
"Russia continues to hit civilians," Zelensky said in a post on social media.
"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 saves lives," he said.
Drone damages apartment
building in St Petersburg
An "emergency" damaged an apartment building in St. Petersburg Saturday morning, Russian authorities said.
Russian state news agency Tass said that the damage was caused by an "explosion," while local news and social media said that a drone had hit the building. The Associated Press could not verify these claims.
There were no casualties, St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov wrote on Telegram.
The Mash news site said that the apartment building was hit by a Ukrainian drone.
It published videos appearing to show the moment the apartment building was struck, showing a strong flash of light engulfing one side of the building and fragments of debris flying into the air. Another video showed car alarms going off. The videos could not be immediately verified.