Russian drones hit apartment block in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, 46 hurt

Russia launched a mass drone attack late at night on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, hitting a high-rise apartment block, triggering fires and injuring 46 people, officials say.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, says there were strikes in 12 locations in four central districts of the city, a repeated target of Russian air attacks lying 30 km (19 miles) from the country’s northeastern border.

President Volodymyr Zelensky denounces the drone strikes, which hit Ukrainian cities several times a week. He says dozens of drones were launched and Ukraine’s allies are moving too slowly in helping beef up its air defense capability.

“There were no military targets, nor could there be any. Russia strikes dwellings when Ukrainians are in their homes, when they are putting their children to bed,” Zelensky writes on Telegram. “As the world delays decisions, almost every night in Ukraine turns into a horror that results in the loss of lives. Ukraine needs stronger air defenses. Stronger and real decisions from our partners: the United States, Europe, all our partners who seek peace.”