by & nbspgavin Blackburn & nbspwith & nbspAP
It’s published
At least 18 civilians were killed and around 200 injured in Russian drone and missile strikes. President Voldymi Zelensky is seeking further Western help in his country’s efforts to repel Russian troops.
The Russian ballistic missile attack on Dnipro crashed into multiple civilian sites in a central Ukrainian city around noon Tuesday, killing nine people and injuring at least 164 people, officials said.
In the nearby town of Samar, two people were killed and 11 injured in the attack, Selegrim, the headmaster of the Dnipro community government, wrote in Telegram.
According to Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov, the barrage damaged 19 schools, 10 kindergartens, vocational schools, music schools, social welfare offices and eight medical facilities.
One of the explosions was blown out of the window of a passenger train carrying around 500 people.
According to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional junta, Russia fired up residential areas and critical infrastructure throughout Ukraine’s South Herson region, killing four civilians and injuring at least 11 people.
In the Smee region of northeastern Ukraine, a drone attack late Monday killed three civilians, including a five-year-old boy, and injured six people, local authorities said.
Officials said those injured included two 17-year-old girls and a 12-year-old boy.
The Russian army has mercilessly targeted Ukraine’s civilian regions during the war, and is now in its fourth year.
More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to the United Nations.
Ukraine also launched long-range drones against Russia and attacked residential areas.
Zelenskyy met with Western leaders attending the NATO summit in The Hague early Tuesday.
He wants to lock in additional military support for the Ukrainian battle against Russia’s larger army, as recent direct peace negotiations have not brought concrete progress in possible settlements.
Analysts say the major US military commitment left by the Biden administration to Ukraine is expected to run out within months, with uncertainty as to whether President Donald Trump is willing to offer more.
In a Telegram post, Zelensky said Russia had urged countries to request foreign components to build ballistic missiles and deny access to the Kremlin by removing the Russian “scheme.”
“The sanctions against Russia must also be significantly strengthened,” he said.
Russian air defense forces fired down 20 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported Tuesday morning.
14 said that 14 was defeated in the Kursk region, adjacent to Ukraine, and two were flying through Moscow Oblast.
Governor Andrei Volobyov said a drone slammed a tower block on the outskirts of Russia’s capital, setting the 17th floor on fire.
He said the 34-year-old resident suffered rap shotgun wounds on his arms and legs. Two other drones were shot down with an approach to Moscow, according to Mayor Sergei Sobiyanin.
Air traffic was temporarily suspended as a precaution at two major Moscow airports, Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo, which are representative of Russian aviation authorities Rozaviatsya.
