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(Bloomberg) — Civilian facilities in the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Odesa came under Russian missile fire on Saturday afternoon, according to local officials.
Four people were wounded in Kharkiv, near the Russian border in Ukraine’s far northeast, where the strike ignited a fire, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
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Civilian infrastructure was also damaged by a missile near Odesa on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, injuring three people, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
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Separately, Ukrainian air defense downed a Russian missile near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, according to a statement by governor Serhiy Lysak.
Russia continues to target civilian targets, including energy systems, across Ukraine, although daytime strikes are relatively rare. All 13 drones fired by Russia from its Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border were intercepted overnight, the national Air Force said on Telegram.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city with a pre-war population of about 1.5 million, has been a frequent target. It’s less than an hour’s drive from the Russian border.
Read more: Russia Tries to Force Ukraine to Abandon Second-Biggest City
Ukrainian and Western officials told Bloomberg News in April that they see the bombardment of Kharkiv as part of an effort to force the evacuation of civilians. Russian forces tried and failed to capture the city during the first weeks of the war in 2022, a victory for the mostly Russian-speaking population.
The port city of Odesa, the epicenter of Ukraine’s grain export program, has been another frequent target of missile and drone strikes, with shipping infrastructure regularly under attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday urging allies to provide more air defense and weapons supplies.
Russia has “shelled our cities and regions more than 380 times this week alone. And it happens every week of this war,” Zelenskiy said.
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