A barrage of Russian missiles hit Pavlograd in central-eastern Ukraine, killing one person, injuring more than 60 and damaging several homes, authorities said.

Russian ballistic missile strikes have multiplied in recent days and Kiev is asking its Western allies for more air defense systems.

“It is a difficult day for the region. The injured in Pavlograd amount to 64» said the governor of the region, Serhii Lisak.

Among the injured are five minors, including a 9-year-old girl and two 4- and 11-year-old boys, he added.

The strikes caused fires in this city in Dnipropetrovsk region and destroyed “several businesses” and more than 30 buildings, as well as a nursery school, Lisak said.

According to the Ukrainian military, five Iskander ballistic missiles hit Pavlograd.

The city, often targeted by Russian forces, is 100 kilometers from the front and before the Russian invasion had a population of around 100,000. There is also a large factory for the production of explosives.

Footage released by the interior ministry shows a block of flats that has been badly damaged and its occupants being taken away by rescuers. Thick black smoke can also be seen billowing from the broken glass windows and, in front of the building, broken tree branches on the ground.