The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, confirmed on Friday that at least 25 people were injured in a Russian missile strike that hit an apartment building overnight. The attack has left the city grappling with the aftermath of yet another violent assault on civilian infrastructure.
Mayor Igor Terekhov shared on Telegram that a 12-story residential building in Kharkiv was hit by a bomb, causing partial destruction of the first and third floors. The strike has left significant damage to the building’s structure, further exacerbating the city’s challenges.
“The number of injured keeps increasing. As of now, there are 25 of them,” he added.
Rescue operations were ongoing for those trapped on the third floor, with teams focused on navigating the wreckage to free the inhabitants still caught in the collapsed sections of the building.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, condemned Russia for what he described as a deliberate strike on an apartment building, calling it an intentional act of destruction aimed at civilians.
“The Russians are also attacking Kyiv with missiles,” he added.
Read also: South Korea Might Send Weapons Directly To Ukraine – President
Separately, Kyiv’s military office said that anti-missile air defences were operating in the capital.
A barrage of drones also struck Odessa and its suburbs in the south of the country, wounding at least two people, the region’s governor Oleg Kiper said.
Kyiv was targeted on Thursday by another “massive” Russian drone attack that wounded two people, damaged buildings and sparked fires in several districts, Ukrainian authorities said.
From the very first day of its invasion on February 24, 2022, Russia has consistently launched drone and missile strikes against the capital, maintaining a steady campaign of aerial assaults throughout the course of the ongoing conflict.
With the intensification of Russian air strikes, Ukrainian authorities have been calling on their allies for advanced air defense systems, hoping to better defend against the ongoing aerial assaults.
