Two children among 11 killed in Russian attack on apartment block in Odessa

(CNN) — The death toll from a Russian drone strike on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Odessa has risen to eleven after the body of a 10-year-old boy was found, the head of the military administration said on Telegram. From the Odessa region, Oleh Kipper. They are the latest civilian victims of a sustained Russian bombing campaign.

The bodies of a mother and her four-month-old son were also found in the debris on Saturday, officials said.

The mother’s name was Anna and she was in her room on the second floor of her apartment building when the attack occurred, the dead woman’s sister told CNN. She was a flower seller and decorator.

Her sister told CNN that her husband and daughter survived the drone strike.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s daily address this Saturday, a boy named Mark also died: he was two years old and was due to turn three on Sunday.

The attack left the front of an apartment block in ruins.

At least ten people were killed in a drone attack on a residential building in Odessa. (Olexandr Gimanov/AFP/Getty Images)

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said there were no military installations nearby and described the attack as a deliberate attack on civilians.

According to the city administration, Sunday was declared a day of mourning in Odessa.

Zelensky said the attack shows the need to further strengthen the country’s air defense capabilities.

“An enemy drone attacked a residential building in Odessa. 18 apartments have been destroyed,” the Ukrainian president said on Saturday.

“More air defense systems, more missiles for air defense only saves lives,” he said.

Ukraine is seeking more military aid from its Western allies as Russia enters its third year of war.

Last week, Zelensky warned CNN that if US lawmakers do not approve President Joe Biden’s request for $60 billion in aid to Kiev, hours after announcing that some 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the conflict They went. So far.

So far, House Republican leadership has refused to hold a vote on providing more funding.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is considering whether to use its last remaining source of military aid funding to support Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, even guaranteeing Without that, those funds will be replenished by Congress, he told CNN. Many defense officials told.

It was updated with the death toll.