At least seven dead in Russian missile attack on Kharkiv
At least seven people have died and over a dozen others have sustained injuries in a Russian missile strike on Kharkiv, a city in northeastern Ukraine, as reported by the regional authority.
The head of the region, Oleg Sinegubov, said two individuals remain unaccounted for following the attack, during which Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s second-largest urban centre at least 15 times. Sinegubov urged residents to seek shelter in safe locations.
Ukraine’s state railway company revealed that several of its facilities had incurred damage in the assault, resulting in injuries to some of its employees.
Russian military actions escalated earlier this month with a renewed offensive in the area, aimed at penetrating a weakened Ukrainian defensive line.
Sinegubov stated on Wednesday that hostilities persist near the towns of Pletenivka and Vovchansk, affirming Ukrainian forces’ control over the situation. “This weakness is not ours, but the world’s, which has not dared to deal with terrorists in the way they deserve for three years,” he said in a post on X.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the assaults on Kharkiv underscored Russia’s exploitation of Ukraine’s air defence vulnerabilities. Delays in the delivery of US-manufactured surface-to-air missile systems were attributed to congressional debates over a multibillion-dollar aid package for Ukraine, which was eventually approved last month.
Zelensky has persistently advocated for increased air defence capabilities and the provision of contemporary fighter aircraft from allied nations.