Russian airstrikes are increasing across Ukraine, leaving dozens dead and injured

Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) – Russian missiles, bombs and drones have hit three regions of Ukraine in targeted nighttime attacks, officials said on Friday, as Russia launches an intensified air campaign that Ukrainian officials say they need more Western help to counter – even if there are doubts about what Kiev can expect from a new US government.

Since the war began nearly three years ago following Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighboring country, the Russian military has repeatedly used its superior air force to blast civilian targets across Ukraine. According to the United Nations, more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the conflict.

A 500-kilogram glide bomb severely damaged a high-rise building in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in the middle of the night, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. At least 25 people, including a toddler, were injured, he said.

Glide bombs, against which Ukraine has no effective countermeasures, destroy their targets, sending out a powerful shockwave and often leaving a wide crater.

In the southern city of Odessa, a Russian drone strike killed one person and injured nine others overnight, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.

In the capital Kiev, four people were injured by falling debris from intercepted rockets, regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia fired a total of 92 drones and five missiles into Ukraine during the night. Four missiles and 62 drones were intercepted and 26 drones were electronically jammed, it said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needs more help to defend itself against Russia’s military might, even as uncertainty grows over what Western help Ukraine can expect after Donald Trump was elected the next U.S. president this week .

“It is important to act together and decisively at the international level every time Russia tries to destroy our lives,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “This is the only way we can achieve a just peace and stop the deaths of our people.”

Russia shot down around 2,000 drones against Ukraine in October, about a third more than the previous month. This was the third month in a row in which there was a significant increase, the British Ministry of Defense announced on Friday.

Russian fire rates have increased since the middle of the year, it said, adding that recent high monthly numbers were likely to become the norm.