Ukraine urges increased support as Russia unleashes huge air assault

Cities and infrastructure across the country are hit with Russian drones and missiles, killing nine, injuring dozens.

Russia has unleashed a huge air assault against Ukraine, illustrating Kyiv’s desperate need for additional defence capabilities.

A wave of Russian strikes, using drones and several types of missiles, battered Ukrainian cities on Friday, in one of the largest and fiercest bombardments in recent months. With civilian areas across the country hit, Ukrainian officials said that the broadside shows the need for increased support from international partners, which it is struggling to secure.

At least nine people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured as Russia targeted the capital, Kyiv, the northern city of Kharkiv, eastern Dnipro, Odesa in the south, and Lviv in the west.

With the front line largely bogged down in trench warfare, Russia has in recent weeks returned to its tactic from last winter, during which it targeted infrastructure, especially energy and heating, leaving millions of Ukrainians struggling to stay warm.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal noted that the barrage on Friday targeted critical infrastructure. The energy ministry reported that four Ukrainian regions in the north and south were facing power cuts.