Russian attacks killed five people in the frequently targeted city of Dnipro and a child in Cherkasy on April 14, Ukrainian authorities said, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received promises of further support from Germany and Norway.
About 25 others were injured in the missile strike in Dnipro, 10 seriously, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram. The air force had warned of the threat of a Russian ballistic missile attack on the large southeastern city not far from the front line.
Later in the day, a Russian drone strike killed an eight-year-old boy in the central city of Cherkasy, the regional military administration said. It said nine other people were hospitalized, including a child.
The new bombardments came two days after Ukraine and Russia accused each other of thousands of attacks and other violations of a 32-hour cease-fire over the Orthodox Easter holiday.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has targeted cities across the country with near-nightly drone and missile attacks in addition to fighting at the front in the east and south. Dnipro has been targeted many times.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Freidrich Merz told a news conference that ties with Kyiv would be elevated to the level of a “strategic partnership” with a focus on defense.
With direct US support diminished, Germany has become Ukraine’s biggest military backer, and like other countries, it is looking to Ukraine for experience and expertise on drone warfare.
“What we are doing in this cooperation is not only beneficial for the defense of Ukraine. It is also of particular benefit to us, for our security,” Merz said.
The two countries pledged to “strengthen cooperation in the air defense field” and Germany said it would “continue supporting Ukraine’s drone industry as well as establishing drone co-production ventures.”
The German Defense Ministry said it had agreed to fund contracts for several hundred Patriot missiles from US defense company Raytheon, and also for what Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhaylo Federov said were 36 German-made IRIS-T air defense missile launchers.
“This is a massive boost for our air defense,” Federov said in a post on X. He said the sides had agreed on a defense package worth 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion).
From Berlin, Zelenskyy travelled to Oslo for meetings with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahre Stoere and other officials and lawmakers.
The Norwegian government said the countries will step up their defense cooperation, including by producing Ukrainian drones in Norway.
“We continue active diplomacy with partners to protect life and bring about real and guaranteed peace,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
