Indian among 12 killed in latest Russian attacks on Ukraine: Zelenskyy

An Indian citizen was among 12 people killed in the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, as Russian drones and ballistic missiles struck several cities, damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said guided aerial bomb and drone attacks had continued against Odesa city and the surrounding region since Monday evening, leaving thousands of families without electricity.

"Overall, 12 people were killed, among them an Indian citizen," the Ukrainian president said in a social media post.

"My condolences to everyone who has lost family and loved ones," he added.

According to Zelenskyy, dozens of people were also injured in the attacks, which targeted Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy and Dnipro regions.

In Kyiv, seven people were killed when a strike hit a railway depot, he said.

In Boryspil, a five-storey residential building was damaged, forcing the evacuation of 50 people. Four people were killed and 13 others injured in the city, Zelenskyy said.

Nearly 350 first responders were involved in rescue and recovery operations in Kyiv and the surrounding region alone, he added.

"A significant number of jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles were used in the attack," Zelenskyy said, adding that residential buildings and civilian infrastructure had been damaged.

Russian guided aerial bomb and drone strikes also continued against Odesa and its surrounding region, he said.

A border crossing with Romania and export infrastructure were also "deliberately damaged", according to the Ukrainian president.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and called for greater assistance to strengthen Ukraine's air defence capabilities.

"Russia always plans its strikes specifically to cause as much destruction to people's lives as possible, and it succeeds only when air defence capabilities are insufficient," he said.

"The number of victims of Russian terror directly hinges on every new package of assistance," Zelenskyy added, while thanking countries supporting Ukraine through the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) and bilateral supplies.

(With inputs in PTI)