The China Mail - Russian strikes kill at least 8, wound more across Ukraine

A ballistic missile struck a village house near the central city of Kryvyi, killing four adults and two girls aged five and 12, local officials said.

Eight other people were wounded in the attack, Kryvyi Rig's defence council reported, warning "the death toll may rise".

Officials in Ukraine's eastern Poltava region, meanwhile, said one person was killed in a drone strike on a warehouse, while at least 15 people were wounded in attacks on the western city of Lviv.

Kyiv's city military administration confirmed one person was killed and two others wounded in the capital after Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russia was "attacking the capital with ballistic weapons".

"The threat of further attack remains present. Stay in shelters!" Klitschko said early Thursday, adding there were fires in several districts of the city.

Five other people were reported wounded in attacks in an eastern Kyiv district.

"The Russians prepared a massive attack several days ago, and there is a high probability that the strike will be carried out tonight," Zelensky said in a post on X late Wednesday.

"Please, in all regions of Ukraine, pay attention to air raid alerts today and stay safe."

Zelensky in his post repeated his request to Ukraine's allies to supply Kyiv with the missiles its air defence system lacks.

Zelensky spoke on Tuesday with American counterpart Donald Trump at the White House and discussed the possibility of Ukraine producing Patriot interceptors.

- Increasing attacks -

An AFP journalist in the capital heard air raid sirens, followed by several explosions.

Photos shared by the city's emergency service on Thursday showed firefighters blasting water into bombed buildings and sifting through rubble.

Last month was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022, as Moscow ramped up its long-range strikes on towns and cities across Ukraine, according to the United Nations.

Ukraine has escalated its retaliatory strikes on Russia in recent months, partly to pressure Moscow to the negotiating table after nearly four-and-a-half years of war.

In early July, Trump had expressed his intention to allow Ukraine to make surface-to-air missiles, at a time when Russia had stepped up its ballistic missile strikes.

Only the American Patriot systems are capable of shooting them down, but Ukraine is desperately short of PAC-3 interceptor missiles.

This shortage has also worsened since the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in February.

Zelensky said on Tuesday he had a "good meeting" with Trump and said the US president "accepted that he will give us (Patriot) licenses".

K.Leung--ThChM