Russian Strikes Kill Nine in Ukraine

Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least nine people, including three children, as Kyiv said it shot down a Russian strategic bomber for the first time.

Moscow said a military plane crashed over the south of the country while returning to base from a combat mission after suffering a technical malfunction.

The downing of a Russian bomber used to fire cruise missiles at Ukraine would be a highly symbolic win for Kyiv, which has been pounded by hundreds of overnight Russian aerial strikes since Moscow invaded more than two years ago.

The latest overnight Russian strikes on the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region killed at least nine people and injured more than a dozen, Ukrainian officials said.

"A child who was heavily wounded during a massive enemy attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region today died in hospital. The death toll had now risen to nine, including three children," the office of Ukraine's Prosecutor General said in a statement.

Strikes were recorded in the region's Synelnykivsky area -- where at least two children, aged six and eight, were among those killed -- and the regional capital of Dnipro, the interior ministry said.

After the strike, President Volodymyr Zelensky repeated his calls for Ukraine's Western allies to supply air defense systems.

"Every country that provides air defense systems to Ukraine, every leader who helps persuade our partners that air defense systems should not be stored in warehouses but deployed in real cities and communities facing terror, and everyone who supports our defense is a life saver," Zelensky said.

Russian officials said the plane crashed over the southern Stavropol region, but blamed it on a technical malfunction. It said at least one member of the crew had died.

Ukraine's air force said that Russia had launched 22 missiles and 14 attack drones overnight -- including from the downed strategic bomber.