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Russian strikes kill eight in Ukraine, damage maternity clinic
UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KYIV-EXPLOSIONS:Russian strikes kill eight in Ukraine, damage maternity clinic
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By Gleb Garanich and Valentyn Ogirenko
KYIV, Sept 24 - Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's capital Kyiv and its northeast killed eight people on Thursday in attacks that included a maternity hospital and a farm, officials said.
Moscow has stepped up its air war in recent months, deploying more of its faster and harder-to-stop drones while Ukraine is short of interceptors to down ballistic missiles.
Two people died in the latest assault on Kyiv, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was in New York for the UN General Assembly.
"As people were sleeping, flashes from explosions lit up the sky," Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
"Once again, the main targets of their strike were Kyiv and civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, a maternity hospital, energy infrastructure, and logistics."
Police said nine homes, a post office, warehouses and dozens of cars were also damaged in Kyiv.
A separate Russian attack on a vegetable storage facility at a farm in a village of the northeastern Kharkiv region killed six people and injured a further 12, prosecutors said.
The overnight barrage around Ukraine included an unspecified number of hypersonic and ballistic missiles, 282 drones and other weapons, Ukraine's air force said.
MATERNITY HOSPITAL DAMAGED
In Kyiv, eight people were injured as well as the two fatalities, one of whom was in the parking lot of the maternity hospital, city mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Part of the hospital's facade, windows and doors were damaged, officials said, adding that no patients or medics were injured.
Authorities in the northwestern region of Rivne said infrastructure was damaged in overnight strikes that continued into Thursday morning, without providing further details. Volyn region bordering Poland also came under attack.
Insufficient pressure on Moscow was allowing it to launch repeated strikes, said Zelenskiy.
"Right now, the United States has the opportunity to respond strongly," he said in comments posted on Telegram. "We need ballistic interceptors to protect lives."
Zelenskiy, speaking at a gathering with diaspora Ukrainians, said Ukraine had clinched a deal for the supply of missiles for the Patriot system, but gave no details of which country had agreed to the deal.
"Today we agreed - I won't say with whom - on a package of missiles for the Patriot systems," Zelenskiy said in a video clip posted to Facebook. "An important decision, very important. There is a result."
Russia's defence ministry said its forces hit Ukrainian defence facilities, logistics and telecoms centres, as well as vessels used by the military.
In the Black Sea port of Odesa, military administration head Serhiy Lysak said overnight Russian strikes damaged a medical facility and shattered windows in nearby houses and a school.
Moldova's President Maia Sandu said four Russian drones crossed into its airspace and at least one exploded.
"These incidents can no longer be seen as isolated cases. They pose a real danger to people and Moldova's security," Moldovan Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatii told reporters.
Romania also said a drone also crashed in its territory.
NATO alliance member Poland said it deployed aviation twice on Thursday due to Russian attacks on Ukraine.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
