Kyiv, 26 May 2024 (dpa/MIA) — Ukrainian authorities on Sunday reported that the death toll from the Russian bombing of a DIY store in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv has reached 12 people.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Kylmenko wrote on the social media platform Telegram that the number of injured in the attack has risen to 43, with 16 people still missing.

The fire that broke out after the airstrike was finally put out early on Sunday, Klymenko said, after 16 hours of work by firefighters.

Russia attacked the store with at least one glide bomb on Saturday. It later claimed Ukraine had hidden an arms depot in the store.

"The tactic of human shields is being used in Kharkiv - they [the Ukrainians] have set up a military camp and a command post in a shopping centre, which was discovered by our intelligence service," the state agency TASS quoted an unnamed representative of the Russian leadership as saying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said around 200 people were in the Epicentr home improvement store at the time of the attack.

Zelensky described the attack as "another manifestation of Russian madness" and once again asked Ukraine's allies to supply air defence systems to protect its civilians.

Kharkiv, which lies only 30 kilometres from the Russian border, has been one of the worst-hit cities in Moscow's bombing campaign since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Other cities across Ukraine were also targeted by Russia on Saturday night, Kiev said.

The Ukrainian air force said a range of missiles, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, rockets and drones were fired at western Ukraine.

Explosions were reported from the Khmelnytskyi region, where the Starokostiantyniv air force base is also located.

According to the regional administration, a residential building was hit in the Vinnytsia region. Three people were injured in the attack, Governor Serhiy Borzov wrote on Telegram.

The Lviv region on the border with Poland was also attacked, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi wrote on Telegram.

An explosion was heard near the capital Kiev, reported the public broadcaster Suspilne. Air raid warnings sounded across the country.

The heavy night-time air raid was preceded by the launch of Tu-95 strategic bombers in Russia, which fire cruise missiles. Later, MiG-31 fighter jets, which are the carrier systems for the Kinzhal, also took off.