As Ukrainians marked Constitution Day on June 28, Moscow unleashed a fresh wave of drone and artillery strikes on southern and eastern regions for the second day in a row, killing at least four people in a village in the Donetsk region, one person in Dnipropetrovsk, and injuring others in Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials in the regions said.
At attack by Russian troops on Toretsk in the Donetsk region hit an apartment building, destroying the entrance of the five-story building, the regional prosecutor's office said. Four civilians, ages 43 to 76, died. Among the injured are a 39-year-old woman and her 8-year-old daughter, who was in serious condition.
The attack in the Dnipropetrovsk region hit a nine-story apartment building in the city of Dnipro, killing one person and injuring six others, including a 7-month-old baby, said Dnipropetrovsk regional Governor Serhiy Lysak. Several floors were destroyed, the governor said.
The attack in Kharkiv occurred in the village of Tsyrkuny, Governor Oleh Synyehubov said. Russian troops fired at least three anti-aircraft missiles at the settlement, Synyehubov said on Telegram.
"At this moment, there are eight victims," he said.
He added that two houses and smaller buildings caught fire. Another 10 houses were damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attacks were another reminder that Ukraine needs better air defense.
"'That's why we keep reminding all our partners: Only sufficient quantity and quality of air defense systems, only sufficient determination of the world, can stop Russian terror," he said on Telegram. "We need these solutions. We need a reliable air shield for Ukraine."
In a video message posted earlier on Telegram, Zelenskiy congratulated his compatriots on Constitution Day, which is marked on June 28, and highlighted the importance of national solidarity in times of war.
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"The 17th article of the constitution: The protection of Ukraine is the most important function of the state and the cause of the entire Ukrainian people. Millions of Ukrainians prove their devotion to this every day. Heroes on the front lines and those who work hard to strengthen the state. Ukrainians who changed their lives, changed their profession, but did not change their choice in favor of freedom, Ukraine, Europe," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy's message came as Russia targeted Nikopol, a city that lies on the right bank of Dnieper River, for a second day on June 28.
"From very early in the morning, the Russian military struck the city of Nikopol again, targeting the district center with kamikaze drones," Dnipropetrovsk regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram, without specifying the number of drones.
"There are no dead or wounded," Lysak said, adding that several houses and industrial facilities in the city had been damaged in the attack.
On June 27, Russia launched a massive artillery attack on Nikopol, causing extensive damage to several schools.
Another southern Ukrainian region, Kherson, was also targeted by a fresh round of Russian strikes, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on June 28.
Prokudin said in a message on Telegram that 28 settlements across Kherson were targeted in the attack that wounded a total of six people and damaged a critical infrastructure facility. He did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, a suspected Ukrainian drone attack set an oil depot on fire in Michurinsk, in Russia's Tambov region, some 400 kilometers southeast of Moscow, regional Governor Maksim Egorov reported on June 28.
Egorov said the fire was small and it was under control.
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Ukrainian Soldiers Fighting To Hold Key Supply Lines In Donetsk Region
Aleksandr Bogomaz, the governor of Russia's Bryansk region, reported that five drones had been shot down over his region on June 28.
The governor of Smolensk region, Vasily Anokhin, said nine drones had been downed over a military facility in the Pochinovsk district.
Russia's Defense Ministry said a total of 25 drones had been downed over five regions. The claim could not be independently confirmed.
Ukraine, whose energy infrastructure has been devastated by constant Russian attacks, has over the past several months increasingly targeted fuel-production sites inside Russia, mainly oil-refining facilities that work for the Russian military.