Shelling kills ten in Kharkiv and Russia downs 60 Ukrainian drones

At least 10 civilians were killed in Ukraine's Kharkiv region by Russian shelling and Russia says it downed more than 60 Ukrainian drones.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the country’s air defence systems downed 57 drones over the Krasnodar region and three over the border region of Belgorod.

The statement said that another drone and nine ATACMS tactical missiles were also downed over the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

Sinyagovsky further said two other explosions were recorded in the region and that, according to preliminary information, there were no casualties or destruction.

Citing a refinery official, Russia's state news agency TASS reported the drones that fell on the grounds of the facility were larger, carried much bigger charges, and were filled with steel balls.

The refinery suspended its operations following the attack, according to the Interfax news agency.

Local media also reported a drone attack in Russia’s Leningrad region that struck an oil depot in the town of Vyborg, located about 38 kilometres (23.6 miles) from the Finnish border, which the region’s governor denied.

“Information about a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack on the Vyborg oil depot is not true. A bang occurred on the territory of the old Vyborg oil depot due to the use of pyrotechnics. There were no injuries, no threat of fire,” Aleksandr Drozdenko said on Telegram.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the claims.

Ten killed in Russian shelling

Repeated Russian shelling on Ukraine's Kharkiv region on Sunday killed at least 10 civilians, said authorities in the border area facing a new Russian offensive.

Russian forces since May 10 carried out a ground assault in the northeastern region, where they achieved their biggest territorial gains in a year-and-a-half.

Their progress had been stopped, Kiev said -- a claim contradicted by Moscow.

"Five people were killed and 16 wounded, including an 8-year-old child" in Russian shelling on the outskirts of Kharkiv city, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said.

"Among the injured are a police officer and a paramedic who arrived to help people and were injured as a result of a second strike."

One of the victims is a seven-month pregnant woman, the Kharkiv regional police said.

Russian forces had struck the same spot 20 minutes after police officers and medics had arrived at the scene, the police added.

Russia has been accused of using "double-tap" attacks, in which a second strike follows shortly after the first, increasing the chances of casualties among those responding to the initial incident.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the strike, saying Russia used its weapons to "terrorise our cities and communities, to kill ordinary people".

Zelenskyy asked for "two Patriots for Kharkiv (which) will fundamentally change the situation", referring to the sophisticated US-made air defence system.