Screenshot from a video posted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

At least four people have been killed and dozens injured after Russian air strikes hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Friday.

Russian forces had hit a 12-storey apartment block and a children’s playground, Terekhov said. A fire had broken out in the building, killing three, while a young girl died in the strike on the children’s playground. He said at least 28 people were injured in the air strike, and that first responders were on the scene.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was quick to condemn the attack. “The Russian attack on Kharkiv was on ordinary people and houses,” he said.

He went on to remind the global community that Ukraine needed greater freedom to act if it was to bring a halt to Russian terror. “The Russians have struck using a glide bomb. This air strike would not have happened if our Defence Forces had had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based.”

Zelensky added that Ukraine needed “bold decisions” from its partners, adding that there was no “rational reason to limit Ukraine’s defence”. “We need long-range capabilities. We need to implement air defence agreements for Ukraine. This is about saving lives,” Zelensky stressed.

These are not the only fatalities from air strikes on the country in recent days, with Russian forces using missiles, including Kinzhal rockets, and Iranian-made Shahed drones in a massive aerial bombardment early on Tuesday, killing two people in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine and three in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.