At least four people have been killed and 12 others injured in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv as a result of a heavy Russian drone attack, official reports said on Thursday.
Governor Oleh Syniehubov and Mayor Ihor Terekhov announced on Telegram on Thursday morning that one resident and three rescue workers were among the dead in the residential area.
The rescue workers had just been working at the impact site in the residential area when the Russian army attacked again.
"This is a disgusting Russian tactic," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
According to the authorities, several buildings were damaged, including a multistorey residential building, Terekhov wrote.
Of a total of 20 combat drones with which Russia attacked Ukraine during the night, 15 were fired at Kharkiv in several waves, they also reported, adding that the Ukrainian air defence was only able to fend off some of them.
Following the deaths of the rescue workers in Kharkiv, Zelensky has criticized the West's hesitation in providing military aid to the country as completely unacceptable.
"A new air defence system could fundamentally change the situation," Zelensky said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev on Thursday.
He said he was grateful to every country that was looking for ways to help Ukraine. At the same time, he said: "It is completely unacceptable that so many countries in the world are still thinking about how they can counter terror, even though all it takes is a few political decisions."
Ukraine is calling for more air defence systems, such as the US Patriot system, to better protect its cities from almost daily Russian attacks.
Stronger air defence for Kharkiv and the region of the same name as well as the Sumy region and the southern regions is an "absolutely urgent necessity," said Zelensky.
Latvia has promised to provide Ukraine with further military aid for its defence against Russia. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa announced a new aid package following a meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal.
Equipment and technical resources from the army of the Baltic EU and NATO country are to be handed over in April, she said.
Ammunition, explosives and weapons, transport vehicles, personal kit and auxiliary equipment will all be part of the package, Siliņa said in Riga on Thursday.
In addition, Latvia would soon be sending the first drones, each worth €1 million ($1.01 million), to Ukraine, she added. The Kharkiv region borders Russia and had already been partially occupied at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. It was liberated by the Ukrainian army in the autumn of that year.
In recent weeks, however, Russian shelling has increased again. Energy plants in Kharkiv are also being targeted, resulting in widespread power cuts.
