Six civilians tragically lost their lives, with a further 10 injured, when a Russian-led strike hit Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the early hours of Saturday, according to local authorities. Images of fires igniting on city streets and adjacent to buildings were released as the Ukrainian national law enforcement confirmed a drone-based offensive.
Six fatalities and ten casualties were reported due to the strike on the Shevchenkivskyi district that occurred overnight, as per the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, communicated through Telegram. The offensive impacted primarily residential areas, damaging at least nine tower blocks, multiple administrative facilities, three student accommodations, a shopping outlet, a petrol and service station, and numerous vehicles.
The local media reported that the assault took place shortly after midnight. Ukraine’s military updated via Facebook that they successfully obliterated 28 out of 32 drones and three out of six missiles launched by Russia.
Situated in the northeast part of Ukraine, Kharkiv has been combatting regular Russian attacks that have heightened in severity recently. A drone assault reported on Wednesday left four individuals dead and extensively damaged apartment buildings.
Anticipating any new Russian advance in May or June, Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, suggested Kharkiv to be the main likely target during his interview with Politico on Thursday.
Oleh Synehubov, the governor of Kharkiv region, stated another offensive on a private residence and a missile attack on a village to the city’s north. Fortunately, no casualties were confirmed in these events.
After these strikes, air raid warnings were sustained for Kharkiv and the majority of the country, inclusive of the capital, Kyiv.
On the previous day, four people were killed and 20 injured as Russia launched five missiles on Zaporizhzhia, a southern city in Ukraine, causing damage to residential and industrial buildings, as per the regional governor. The victims included two reporters covering the strike’s aftermath.
In response to the increasing use of harder-to-intercept ballistic missiles by Moscow, Ukraine’s air force issued a missile raid alert for the region, a part of which is presently under Russian control.
Earlier, accusations came from Russian authorities, claiming that Ukraine had targeted the nuclear facility in Zaporizhzhia, a structure under the control of Russian forces and situated to the city’s south-west. According to the RIA news agency, managed by the Russian state, it was reported that Ukrainian military drones organised an assault on the power facility. However, the activities did not result in any harm to vital infrastructure.
The reported incident has not been independently corroborated by Reuters. Previously, both sides engaged in the two-year conflict have pointed fingers at each other for undertaking attacks on the facility. Currently, none of the plant’s six reactors are functioning – as reported by Reuters.