At least eight people lost their lives, and ten others sustained injuries in Russian airstrikes targeting Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, on Saturday, according to Al Jazeera.
While regional officials asserted that Russian forces employed bombs and missiles, Ukraine's national police contended that drones carried out the attack. Images depicting flames engulfing city streets and buildings were released by local authorities and the police.
Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, reported that six individuals were initially killed in overnight missile strikes, a figure that later rose to eight. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov confirmed the death toll and stated that an additional ten people were injured. Terekhov noted that residential areas, including nine high-rise buildings, three dormitories, various administrative structures, a shop, a petrol station, a service station, and cars, were among the targets damaged in the attack.
The Ukrainian military, via Facebook, announced that it had intercepted three of the six Russian missiles and 28 out of 32 drones in retaliation. Following the midnight strikes, air raid alerts remained in effect for Kharkiv and much of the country, including the capital city, Kyiv, for several hours.
Situated just 30 kilometers from the Russian border, Kharkiv has faced repeated bombings since Moscow initiated its invasion in February 2022. The intensity of the attacks has escalated in recent weeks, with a drone strike on Wednesday resulting in four fatalities and substantial damage to apartment buildings.
