KYIV – Russia launched new strikes in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that hit high-rise apartment buildings, leaving at least 21 wounded in a second consecutive nighttime attack, authorities said.

The bombs fell Saturday night on the district of Shevchenkivsky, north of the center of Kharkiv, which is the second-largest Ukrainian city, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. Residential buildings sustained varying degrees of damage, including 16- and nine-story buildings, he added. Kharkiv’s city council said that 18 buildings were damaged.

The wounded included an 8-year-old child, according to Syniehubov and Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov. Terekhov said that 60 residents were evacuated from one of the buildings, a high-rise that was hit directly.

Kharkiv has been a frequent target of Russian attacks since Moscow launched its all-out invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. On late Friday, 15 people, including children ages 10 and 12, were wounded when Russian airstrikes hit three Kharkiv neighborhoods, Terekhov said.

Zelenskyy Appeals for More Weapons

Ukrainian officials said that KAB-type aerial glide bombs — a retrofitted Soviet weapon that has for months laid waste to eastern Ukraine — were used in both attacks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strike and urged Kyiv’s Western allies to send more weapons to help it “protect lives and ensure safety.”

“Ukraine needs full long-range capabilities, and we are working to convince our partners of this,” Zelenskyy said as he prepared to kick off a busy week in the United States shoring up support for Kyiv in the war.

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