A Russian guided bomb attack on Ukraine's north-eastern city of Kharkiv hit a residential building and a playground on Friday, killing seven people and injuring at least 77 more, local authorities said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a 14-year-old girl was among the dead. Kharkiv's mayor Ihor Terekhov had earlier said on Telegram that one child was killed in the playground.
The 12-storey apartment block caught fire as a result of the strike, the mayor said. The death toll from the attack climbed to seven when a woman's body was recovered from the rubble, he added in a later statement.
About 20 of the injured people were in severe condition, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
One end of the block was engulfed in black smoke, with many of the upper floors in flames. Several cars parked outside were gutted by fire.
Emergency services and rescue volunteers rushed to carry survivors out of the building, as residents of all ages sat stunned on benches and walls outside while medics attended to their injuries.
Kharkiv is the second-largest city in Ukraine with a population of about 1.5 million people, situated 30km from the Russian border.
It has been the focus of heavy Russian bombing throughout the war, although there had been a drop in intensity in recent weeks possibly related to a shock incursion launched by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region.
Ukrainian authorities said Friday's attack, launched from planes in Russia's Belgorod region, involved five aerial guided bombs also known as "glide bombs" which are fitted with a navigation system taking them to their targets.
The weapons are hard to intercept and they have become a fearsome tool in the war in eastern Ukraine in recent months.
Thousands have been killed and wounded during the full-scale invasion Moscow launched in Ukraine in 2022. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians.
Calls for long-range missiles
In the wake of the Kharkiv strike, President Zelenskyy renewed a call on Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to attack Russian military air bases.
"A strike … would not have happened if our defence forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based," he said on Telegram.
"There is no rational reason to restrict Ukraine's defences."
Kyiv says that the most effective way to counter such strikes is to target Russian planes, not the bombs themselves.
Ukraine has received an unspecified number of Patriot systems from the US, its most sophisticated air defence systems.
These are designed to detect and take down oncoming missiles and can reach deep into Russian-controlled airspace, but Kyiv stresses it needs to also strengthen its offensive capabilities.
The deputy head of the Ukraine's parliament defence committee claimed this week that a Patriot was responsible for downing an F-16 fighter jet while it was repelling a Russian attack, and killed its Ukrainian pilot.
Mariana Bezuhla cited unnamed sources for her claim and demanded punishment for those responsible for the error.
Ukraine's now-sacked commander of the air force responded, accusing Ms Bezuhla of defaming the military and discrediting US arms manufacturers.
ABC/wires
