Overnight Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed at least eight people and wounded dozens, with the heaviest casualties and damage reported in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and the western Lviv region, local officials said.

The strikes are the latest in a series of large-scale Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities that Moscow has intensified over the summer, now occurring almost weekly. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the “Russian terror” and stressed the importance of “supporting the protection of life.”

“Protection against the Russian missile threat is the most important task when it comes to saving the lives of our people,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, adding that the work cannot be “left to Ukraine alone or to any one country alone.”

Zelenskyy claimed Russia fired more than 70 missiles, a significant number of them ballistic, along with over 280 attack drones, and that Ukrainian air defenses shot down more than 260 drones. He alleged that delays in the delivery of anti-ballistic missiles and untimely assistance contributed to the scale of destruction and casualties.

The Ukrainian leader emphasized that continued support for Ukraine’s air defenses is crucial to protecting lives. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses shot down 258 Ukrainian drones overnight. Penza Governor Oleg Melnichenko said a depot belonging to the Wildberries online retailer caught fire, injuring one person and forcing the evacuation of about 200 workers.

Source: www.aljazeera.com