Russia launched air strikes in Ukraine on Friday that killed at least eight people, including two children, and Kiev said it was the first time it had downed a Russian strategic bomber.

Moscow said a military aircraft suffered a technical failure and crashed in Russia while returning to base from a combat mission.

Shooting down a Russian bomber used to launch cruise missiles would be a highly symbolic victory for Ukraine, which has been hit by hundreds of Russian airstrikes since Moscow’s invasion more than two years ago.

Russia’s latest overnight attack on eastern Dnipropetrovsk has resulted in more death and destruction, officials said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a post on the X website: “This morning Russia launched a terrible air strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Two Children killed. A 14-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy.”

The region’s chief, Sergiy Lysak, said medics had rescued a six-year-old boy who was previously reported dead, revising a previous death toll of nine. Twelve people were reported injured.

life-saving air defense

The attack hit the region’s Sinernikivsky region and the regional capital Dnipro, sparking fresh anger in Kiev.

“In modern Europe, children must not be killed in air strikes. We must protect them with reliable air defense shields,” Kuleba said.

Ukraine’s railway operator said train facilities were hit in the attack and seven employees were injured. They added that a female staff member was killed.

In response to the attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his call for Ukraine’s Western allies to provide more air defense systems.

“Every country that provides air defense systems to Ukraine, every leader who helps convince our partners that air defense systems should not sit in warehouses but be deployed in real cities and communities facing terror, and everyone who supports our defense They are all saviors,” Zelensky said.

He announced that Zelensky inspected troops in the eastern Donetsk region and inspected defenses. Russian forces have made steady gains in the region, taking advantage of Ukraine’s manpower and ammunition shortages.

In Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives is preparing for a crucial weekend vote on a long-stalled $61 billion military aid package that could provide much-needed weapons to Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the front lines.

Ukraine said it had shot down a Russian long-range strategic bomber in a combat mission for the first time.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Service said the Tu-22M3 was returning to its base in Russia after firing missiles into Ukraine earlier in the evening.

shoot down

Russian officials said the plane crashed in the southern region of Stavropol. They said the pilot ejected but at least one crew member died.

“According to preliminary data, the cause of the accident was a technical failure,” the official news agency quoted the Defense Ministry as saying.

Stavropol Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said the two crew members had been taken to a local medical center.

“The search for the fourth pilot continues,” he added, posting photos of the burned and damaged fuselage of the plane in a field.

The governor said the plane crashed in the region’s Krasnovardy district, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the eastern edge of the annexed Crimean peninsula.

The Ukrainian intelligence service said the plane “was shot down about 300 kilometers from Ukraine. After the hit, the bomber was able to fly to the Stavropol region and crashed there.”

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 22 missiles and 14 Iranian-designed attack drones overnight, including from a downed strategic bomber.

All drones and 15 missiles were said to have been shot down.

Russian attacks have hit towns across Ukraine since Moscow’s invasion more than two years ago. Earlier this week, a missile attack hit the northern city of Chernijiv, killing 18 people.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)