Ukraine: 3 killed in Russian attack on residential building in Kharkiv

MinistryKyiv, Ukraine: Kyiv, Ukraine: Russia bombed a residential building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday, killing three people and wounding about 30 as it renewed its hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr President Volodymyr Zelensky posted footage of the shattered facade of an apartment block and a crater outside. “Russian terrorists have again attacked Kharkiv with a guided bomb,” he wrote on Telegram after the latest attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city. He announced three deaths, while rescue teams were still clearing rubble. Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said 29 people were injured. Regional Governor Oleg Sinegubov said two children were hospitalised and “only civilian infrastructure was damaged”. Kharkiv is close to the border with Russia, which launched an offensive in the region in May, capturing significant territory. It has increasingly targeted the city with air-launched bombs. In May, a guided bomb attack on a hardware store killed 16 people and injured dozens. Defence Minister Rustam Umarov said last month that Russia had dropped nearly 10,000 guided bombs on Ukraine this year. “This Russian terror with guided bombs must and can be stopped. We need strong decision-making from our partners so that we can destroy Russian terrorists and Russian fighters where they are,” Zelensky said.

Ukraine’s military said Russia also launched 16 cruise missiles and 13 attack drones at energy infrastructure in several regions.The Ukrainian Energy Ministry said it was Russia’s “eighth major, joint attack on energy infrastructure facilities” in three months.More than two years after the Russian invasion, missile and drone attacks have crippled Ukraine’s power generation capacity and forced Kiev to impose blackouts and import supplies from the EU.Russia said its troops “launched a group attack with drones on Ukrainian energy facilities powering long-range high-precision weapons and weapons production from the air and sea”.The Defence Ministry said the attacks also targeted warehouses storing ammunition and “air-launched weapons supplied to the Ukrainian military by Western countries”.

“All designated targets were hit,” the ministry said, justifying the strikes as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s energy networks. Ukraine’s energy ministry said equipment of operator Ukrenergo “was damaged at facilities in the Zaporizhzhia and Lviv regions.” Lviv region governor Maksym Kozitsky said a Russian attack set fire to “a critical energy infrastructure facility.” Ukrenergo said two employees were injured and hospitalised in Zaporizhzhia, where Europe’s largest nuclear plant is located. According to Zelensky, Russian attacks have destroyed half of Ukraine’s energy capacity. He has repeatedly urged allies to send more air-defence systems to protect the country’s critical infrastructure.

According to the regional military administration, Southern ZaporizhzhiaRussian shelling in Zaporizhzhia killed one civilian and destroyed residential buildings and infrastructure. Russia controls part of the region, which includes its nuclear plant. The Russian-appointed administration said Ukrainian attacks had damaged a substation linked to the plant but did not compromise nuclear security. Donetsk and Lugansk Frontline clashes were reported on Saturday in the Donetsk region near the towns of Pokrovsk and Toretsk, where Moscow “continues to increase the pace of offensive actions, deploying significant forces,” Kiev’s military said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said troops had improved the situation in Donetsk and Lugansk regions and the Kharkiv region. Regional chief Vadim Filyashkin said five civilians were killed by Russian shelling in border areas of the Donetsk region. Ukrainian police said a policeman manning a checkpoint in the southern Kherson region was killed by a drone. Denis Pushilin, the head of Russian authorities in the Donetsk region, said separatist-controlled Donetsk city and the nearby town of Gorlivka had come under heavy attack from Ukraine. He said three people working for a construction firm were killed by rockets dropping cluster bombs. Pushilin said three more people were injured in a drone attack on a civilian minibus, and another person was wounded by an anti-personnel mine.