KYIV: A Russian strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv left eight dead and more than a dozen wounded on Wednesday, as Kyiv appeals to allies for better air defence systems.
The Chernigiv region, which borders Belarus to the north, was partially occupied at the beginning of Russia's invasion but has been spared fierce fighting for around two years since Moscow's army withdrew.
Mayor Oleksandr Lomako told state media that the strike had ripped into a "very populated area" of the city.
"There are eight dead and 18 injured as a result of Russian missile strikes on Chernigiv. The search and rescue operation continues," he said.
The mayor said there was a direct hit to an infrastructural facility and that an eight-storey building had been badly damaged in the strike.
Russian forces over recent weeks have increased large-scale attacks on Ukraine's energy grid but Lomako said the damaged building was not linked to energy production.
"Russian terrorists attacked Chernigiv, civilians were affected," the head of the Ukrainian president's office, Andriy Yermak, said on social media.
"The terror must be stopped. Air and missile defense is what Ukraine needs right now," he added.
Chernigiv city lies some 145 kilometres (90 miles) north of Ukraine's capital Kyiv and had a pre-war population of around 285,000 people.
Many buildings in the city were left damaged when Russian tanks swept into Ukraine from Belarusian territory in February 2022.
Ukraine has been appealing to its allies abroad to supply it with more sophisticated air defence systems to ward off systematic Russian strikes on key infrastructure.
