KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian strike on an infrastructure facility in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia near the front line killed six people and wounded 23 more, authorities said on Tuesday.

 

The industrial hub had a pre-war population of more than 700,000 people and lies around 35 kilometres from the nearest Russian positions.

 

The head of the Zaporizhzhia region, Ivan Fedorov reported the toll on social media while prosecutors said a civilian infrastructure facility had been damaged in the ballistic missile attack.

 

The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said the Russian strike illustrated that his country needed more support from allies.

 

"This violence must be stopped by strong action. A stronger stance of the allies is needed," he wrote on social media.

 

Zaporizhzhia city has come under increasing Russian aerial bombardments in recent weeks and analysts of the Russian invasion have speculated that the Kremlin could launch an offensive towards the city this winter.

 

The Kremlin claimed to have annexed the wider Zaporizhzhia region in late 2022 despite not having full military control over it.

 

In a separate attack on the eastern region of Kharkiv, authorities said Russian shelling killed a man and a woman -- both 48-years-old -- in the village of Glushkivka.

 

Russian forces are also advancing in the Kharkiv region and are pressuring the civilian hub of Kupiansk, where authorities have urged civilians to flee.

 

In the Russian-occupied district of Lysychansk, Moscow-installed authorities said a Ukrainian strike killed two civilians.