KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥 Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said Monday, as the Kremlin dismissed the country鈥檚 transport chief after a weekend of travel chaos when Russian airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks.
At least 10 civilians were killed and 38 injured, including three children, in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said.
Russia recently has after . Over the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.
Russia鈥檚 bigger army is also at some points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620 miles) front line, where Ukrainian forces are severely stretched.
The strain of keeping Russia鈥檚 invasion at bay, and the lack of progress in , has compelled Ukraine to seek more military help from the U.S. and Europe.
Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine had inked deals with European allies and a leading U.S. defense company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives 鈥渉undreds of thousands鈥 more this year.
鈥淎ir defense is the main thing for protecting life,鈥 Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Monday.
That includes developing and manufacturing interceptor drones that can stop Russia鈥檚 long-range , he said.
Extensive use of drones has also helped Ukraine compensate for its troop shortages on the front line.
One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, 27 were injured in northeastern Kharkiv and falling drone debris caused damage in two districts of Kyiv, the capital, during nighttime drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two others in the northern Sumy region, officials said. Sumy is one of the places where Russia has .
Also, nine people were injured and seven killed in the eastern Donetsk region, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said. He didn鈥檛 specify the type of weapons used.
Meanwhile, Russia鈥檚 Defense Ministry said Monday that its troops shot down 91 Ukrainian drones in 13 Russian regions overnight, as well as over the Black Sea and the Russian-annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
The Kremlin dismissed Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt on Monday, an order published on the Kremlin website said.
The announcement did not give a reason for Starovoyt鈥檚 dismissal. Over the weekend, hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow鈥檚 Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg鈥檚 Pulkovo airports. Other airports in western and central Russia also faced disruptions because of Ukrainian drone attacks.
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Associated Press writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England contributed to this report.
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