Zelenskyy warns air-defence missile supply could run out, as Kharkiv hit by new Russian strikes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyis warning that the countrycould run out of air-defence missiles if Russia keeps up its intense long-range bombing campaign.

Zelenskyy's starkest warning to date of the deteriorating situation faced by Ukraine's air defences follows weeks of Russian strikes on the energy system, towns and cities using a broad arsenal of missiles and drones.

"If they keep hitting [Ukraine]every day the way they have for the last month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it," Zelenskyy said in an interview that aired Saturday on Ukrainian television.

The president, who has been appealing to allies for weeks to rush in more air defences, said that Ukrainehad enough stockpiles to cope for the momentbut that it was already having to make difficult choices about what to protect.

Zelenskyy singled out the lack of Patriot air-defence systems and said Ukraine needs25 of them.

The sophisticated U.S. air-defence system has been vital during Russian attacks with ballistic and hypersonic missiles, which can hit targets within a matter of minutes.

Renewed strikes on Kharkiv

Zelenskyy's remarks followed a fresh spate of attacks that Ukrainian officials said killed civilians.

Two Russian missile and drone strikes, one in the early hours of Saturday and a second in the afternoon, killed eight people and wounded at least 10 in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.

In the eastern region of Donetsk, artillery shelling killed four people in the village of Kurakhivka, including a 38-year-old woman and her 16-year-old daughter. A25-year-old man was killed in the village of Krasnohorivka, while in Odesa in the south, a missile strike killed one civilian.

Russia's DefenceMinistry said the overnight attacks targeted Ukrainianmilitary enterprises that "produced and repaired armoured vehicles and ... drones," as well as "military airfields" and areas where "foreign mercenaries" were allegedly stationed. The ministry claimed all of itstargets were hit.

It also said that Ukraine on Saturday morning fired Vampire rockets at Russia. All 10 of them were shot down over Russia's border region of Belgorod by air defence systems, the ministry said.

Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said the rockets were shot down as they were approaching the city of Belgorod, the regionalcapital, and 12 residential buildings in the city sustained damage. In a nearby village, a private house burned down and several other buildings were damaged, Gladkov said.

It wasn't immediately clear from his statement whether the damage was inflicted by falling debris from the intercepted rockets or whether some of them actually hit those buildings.

Kharkiv, in Ukraine's northeast, has been a frequent Russian target, with attacks intensifying in recent weeks. Earlier this week, a drone attack on the city killed four people and badly damaged apartment blocks.

Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, told the news outlet Politico in a recentinterview that he sawKharkivas the most likely target for any new Russian offensive in May or June.

Air raid alerts remained in effect forKharkivand most of the country, including the capital Kyiv, for several hours after the strikes. Ukraine's military said on Facebook that its air defences destroyed 28 of 32 drones and three of six missiles launched by Russia.

Fierce battles continue elsewhere

On the ground in Ukraine, Russian forces were advancing, and pushing back against them was "difficult," said Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's armed forces.

Syrskyi said the situation in the Bakhmut area, in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region, was particularly challenging. He said Russian forces are carrying out offensive operations day and night, using assault groups with the support of armoured vehicles, as well as assaults on foot.

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Fierce battles are taking place east of the town of Chasiv Yar, which Ukraine still controls and which is located near the occupied city of Bakhmut.

Russian forces are trying to break through defensive lines there, Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that "Chasiv Yar remains under our control, all enemy attempts to break through to the settlement have failed."

Near Avdiivka, another city in the Donetsk region held by the Russians, the fiercest battles were occurring in Pervomaiskyi and Vodyane, according to the official. He also said the situation is tense on the southern and northeastern parts of the front line.

The war in Ukraine is now in its 26th month. Russia launched the wide-ranging invasion of its neighbour on Feb. 24,2022.