Kyiv, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes overnight, killing civilians and injuring many others on both sides, local authorities reported. The large-scale Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities have become almost routine in recent weeks, with Moscow exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptors for the U.S.-made Patriot systems.

Attacks and Casualties

In the latest attacks, Ukrainian drones killed five people and injured two dozen others, including a 4-year-old boy, in Russia’s border region of Belgorod. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Russian missiles struck a high-rise apartment block, killing two people and injuring 13. Eight more people were injured in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa after dozens of missiles and drones struck the city and surrounding region.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been lobbying other countries, especially the U.S., to send Ukraine more Patriot systems, arguing they are crucial for defending civilians. Failing that, Zelenskyy wants to make Patriot ammunition in Ukraine or get approval from Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia that can hit its missile launchers.

International Implications

Bulgaria has summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after a drone entered Bulgarian airspace, the country’s public broadcaster BNT reported. The drone exploded on Saturday close to an international gas pipeline shortly after crossing the border from Romania. No casualties or damage were reported.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.