KYIV: Russian air attacks hit an industrial facility and a residential buildings in northeastern Ukraine on Friday, killing two people and wounding at least seven, local officials said.
Three children and a woman were hurt when guided bombs hit a central part of the town of Derhachi in the Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said on the Telegram messenger.
Two bombs struck an industrial facility in the Sumy region, regional authorities said. They gave no further details. In a separate artillery strike on the Sumy region, two people were killed and three injured, the national police said.
The two neighbouring regions border Russia and have suffered frequent aerial attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The strikes have become more intense in recent weeks, hitting civilian and energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday called for additional air defense systems to be sent to Kyiv to help protect against Russian strikes, adding that a pause in U.S. funding had helped Moscow seize the initiative.
"This year, Russian jets have already used more than 9,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine and we need the ability to shoot down the air combat aircraft so that they do not approach our positions and borders," Zelenskiy said at the start of a virtual meeting led by the United States on helping arm Ukraine.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the meeting would focus on Ukraine's air defense capabilities. The meeting comes days after Congress emerged from a half-year of deadlock to approve a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. President Joe Biden's administration quickly announced $1 billion in artillery.
"While we were waiting for a decision on the American support, the Russian army managed to seize the initiative on the battlefield," Zelenskiy said. "We can still now, not only stabilize the front, but also move forward achieving our Ukrainian goals in the war," he added.
The United States hopes its new deliveries of weaponry will help Ukraine rebuild defenses and refit its forces as it recovers from a gap in U.S. assistance, but it does not expect Kyiv to launch large-scale offensive operations.
The influx of weapons could improve Kyiv's chances of averting a major Russian breakthrough in the east, just over two years since the start of Moscow's full-scale attack, military analysts say.
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