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Patriot anti-aircraft system with German, Dutch and Slovakian flags: “save lives”

Photo: Carsten Hoffmann / picture alliance/dpa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the West to provide more anti-aircraft systems to his country, which has been attacked by Russia.

Russia continues to fight civilians, Zelensky said on Saturday in online networks.

»We need more air defense from our partners.

We must strengthen Ukraine's air shield to better protect our people from Russian terror.

More anti-aircraft systems and more missiles for anti-aircraft systems save lives.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said five people had been killed in Russian attacks.

According to reports, three people were killed in air strikes in the southern port city of Odessa on Saturday night, including a child.

A nine-story building was destroyed by "an attack by Russian terrorists," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on the Telegram online service.

In Kharkiv, a 76-year-old man was killed shortly after midnight, according to the local governor.

Another person was killed in the front-line region of Kherson on Saturday morning, according to local authorities.

Ukrainian drone strike near Saint Petersburg

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had launched 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones and three missiles.

According to the information, 14 of the drones were shot down.

However, falling debris damaged residential buildings in Odessa and Kharkiv.

Ukraine also apparently launched a drone attack that night, damaging a residential building in Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city.

The Russian authorities spoke of an “incident” and there were no injuries.

Russian online networks showed how a drone fell from the sky into the building and caused an explosion.

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Ukrainian media reported that Russian air defenses shot down a drone that targeted an oil depot less than a kilometer from the building hit in St. Petersburg.

Ukraine has attacked several Russian oil refineries in recent months, calling it retaliation for Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid.

Meanwhile, the new Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrsky visited military positions on the front on Saturday.

"The situation at the front remains difficult but under control," he said.

great / AFP