Death toll rises in Russian drone attack on Ukrainian port city

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from a Russian drone strike that destroyed an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa rose to 10 on Sunday, after a local official said the body of a third child was found in the debris.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his Western allies to strengthen Ukraine’s security after Saturday’s deadly attack.

Rescuers recovered the remains of a woman and her child, who appeared to be “not even a year old,” Odessa region governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

A one-month-old baby was among those killed when debris from an Iranian-made drone fell on an apartment building, Ukrainian officials said Saturday. It was one of eight Russian drones reported by authorities that day. Later that day, Zelensky said that another child had died and asked his allies to send more anti-aircraft systems.

“Timothy was 4 months old. Mark was about to turn 3 years old. My condolences to all his loved ones,” Zelensky wrote in English on Twitter. He said that a 3-year-old girl and seven other people were injured in the attack.

Zelensky wrote, “The delay in arms deliveries to Ukraine, as well as the delay in air defense to protect our people, unfortunately are the result of these losses (…) Ukraine has never been deprived of what is necessary to protect life. Nothing more has been requested.”

Four more people may be trapped under debris in Odessa, the local division of Ukraine’s main emergency service said on Facebook on Sunday. Local Governor Kipper indicated that rescue workers were still searching the area.

The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, said 38 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight Sunday over the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. A bridge connecting Crimea to Russian territory was closed to traffic for about two hours in the morning. ,

In Moscow, China’s special envoy to Ukraine met senior Russian diplomats on Saturday night at the start of a European tour that will also take him to Brussels, Poland, Germany and France, Chinese and Russian state media reported.

Special representative Li Hui and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galyuzin agreed that negotiations were the only way to end the fighting in Ukraine, according to a text published Sunday morning.

Li’s visit, his second since last May, comes as Kiev seeks to persuade Beijing to participate in peace talks that Switzerland is trying to organize this spring. China claims neutrality in Russia’s war in Ukraine, but maintains close ties with Moscow

“We will continue to play our unique role, conduct mediation diplomacy, build consensus among all parties, and bring Chinese wisdom to promote a political solution to the Ukraine crisis,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.