Zelensky claims Russia taking advantage of its 'lack of air defence' by launching brutal strikes

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday (May 23) said that Russia has been taking advantage of Ukraine's lack of air defence systems to launch "brutal" strikes on frontline towns and cities.

In a post on social media, Zelensky said, "Russian terrorists are taking advantage of the fact that Ukraine still lacks sufficient air defence protection and the reliable ability to destroy terrorist launchers exactly where they are located -- near our borders."

Zelensky's remarks came on the day when local authorities said that a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv killed at least six people and wounded at least 11.

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The mayor of Kharkiv and the region's governor said that the attack damaged transport and municipal infrastructure and destroyed a printing house, causing a fire.

Regional police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko told reporters at the scene: "This is a purely civilian site, it is a printworks that prints books."

He also said two missiles had hit the printworks' premises, with one landing nearby.

According to Oleksandr Filchakov, who is the head of the Kharkiv region prosecutor's office, about 50 people had been in the printworks when it was hit.

Notably, Kharkiv is a hub of Ukraine's publishing industry, but in the past few weeks, it has seen intensified Russian strikes.

Kharkiv city mayor claimed that 15 missiles had been used in the attack, based on preliminary information.

The missile attack also injured seven people in the Kharkiv district, the governor said.

Watch:US shifting stance on weapon usage by Kyiv?

Russia claims capture of village

Meanwhile, Russia on Thursday claimed that it had captured the village of Andriivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

It is the same region where Kyiv's forces are suffering manpower and ammunition shortages and struggling to hold off Russian attacks.

"Units of the Southern grouping of troops liberated the settlement of Andriivka in the Donetsk People's Republic," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Russia warns Britain

Russia reiterated that it wouldretaliate with strikes on British targets if UK weapons were used by Ukraine to strike Russian territory.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday that British targets "on Ukraine's territory and beyond its borders" could be hit in such a scenario.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos

(With inputs from agencies)