Zelensky renews calls for more air defence after deadly strike on Kyiv

Russia's invasion has dragged on for nearly four years, with diplomatic efforts to end the war failing, and fears are growing for the country's energy security ahead of a fourth winter of war.

Ukraine said Russian attacks had killed four people in its southern region Saturday. 

"Ukraine needs support that saves lives: more air-defence systems, more protective capabilities and greater resolve from our partners," Zelensky said on social media.

Earlier, officials had said the death toll from Friday's attack on Kyiv had risen to seven after an elderly woman died in hospital.

Zelensky said one of the victims was Nataliia Khodemnchuk, the wife of an operator at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant who died during the 1986 nuclear disaster.

"Nearly four decades later, Nataliia was killed in a new tragedy caused once again by the Kremlin," he said. 

Other victims of the attack included a couple in their 70s and a 62-year-old. 

Ukraine also said Saturday it had attacked a Russian oil refinery near Moscow.

The Ukrainian army said on social media it had hit a refinery in the Ryazan region near Moscow. The strike, it said, was "part of efforts to reduce the enemy's ability to launch missile and bomb strikes".

Ukraine has regularly staged missile and drone attacks inside Russia throughout the Kremlin's invasion since 2022.  

Ryazan governor Pavel Malkov said Russian air defences had shot down 25 Ukrainian drones over the region during the night.

"Falling debris caused a fire on the premises of one enterprise" but there had been no casualties, Malkov said on Telegram. 

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