Russia shoots down 33 Ukrainian drones hours after deadly Kharkiv bomb attack

A rescue worker with a dog searches for victims in a damaged apartment building after it was hit by Russian air bomb in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Saturday (Andrii Marienko/AP)

Russian authorities have said more than 30 drones were shot down over the country’s western regions overnight into Sunday, just hours after a Russian bomb attack on Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv killed three people and left dozens in hospital.

One of the four aerial bombs hit a five-storey residential building on Saturday afternoon, officials said. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said 41 people are still being treated for injuries.

In a video address following the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s partners to bolster its air defences.

Debris lies on the ground outside a building hit by a Russian attack — An apartment building in Kharkiv was badly damaged in a Russian bomb attack on Saturday (Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP)

“Modern air defence systems for Ukraine – such as Patriots, accelerated training of our pilots for F-16s, and most importantly, sufficient range for our weapons – are truly necessary,” he said.

Two people were injured by falling debris when two Russian missiles were shot down over the Kyiv region overnight, Ukraine’s air force commander Mykola Oleschuk said.

In Russia, air defence forces shot down 33 Ukrainian drones over the country’s western Bryansk, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Tula regions, the Russian Ministry of Defence said. No casualties or damage were reported.

Regional governor Vadym Filashkin of Ukraine’s partly occupied Donetsk region said Russian attacks on Saturday killed two people and wounded four.