According to Ukrainian officials, at least four individuals were killed when Russian forces attacked residential buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, including rescue personnel.
In a message published on the Telegram application on Thursday, Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov reported that the assaults on the previously blasted structures in a “densely populated district of Kharkiv” injured twelve individuals.
According to the Kyiv Post, three of the deceased were rescuers who had arrived at the location to address the consequences of the previous attacks.
Just 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the Russian frontier, Kharkiv, the capital of the region of the same name, has been subjected to frequent bombardment ever since Moscow began its invasion in February 2022.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine referred to the assault as “vile and cynical.”
“Against all acts of aggression against our people, Russian terrorists will be held accountable,” he wrote in a post on X, adding that “enhancing Ukraine’s air defence capabilities directly translates to saving lives.”
Social media posts featured images of residential structures that had been partially destroyed, in addition to an ambulance and a fire vehicle that had sustained damage during the strikes.
Governor Oleg Synegubov of Kharkiv stated that the second-largest city in Ukraine was the target of at least fifteen drone attacks during the night, of which several were shot down.
He stated that Shahid drones manufactured in Iran were utilized.
A nurse was among those injured after being trapped in a subsequent secondary explosion, Synehubov added. A 14-story structure fatally struck a 69-year-old female.
Russia refutes any intentional intent to target civilians.
One individual was killed when Russian forces dropped an aerial weapon on the city last week. Five individuals were slain in an industrial area earlier this month due to a missile strike.
The term “critical zero”
Russia has escalated its assaults on electricity and other infrastructure in recent weeks, depriving hundreds of thousands of individuals of power.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy sent the following message via Telegram: Approximately 350,000 inhabitants of Kharkiv and the surrounding area were without power.
Ukraine’s officials have urged their allies to provide additional anti-aircraft defence systems, specifically modern Patriot systems manufactured in the United States.
The United States has ceased providing military assistance to Ukraine, and a $60 billion funding package is presently mired in Congress due to Republicans’ vehement opposition.
On Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Grushko stated that the situation between Moscow and NATO was “predictably and deliberately” deteriorating as the conflict drags on.
Washington and Brussels have severed all communication channels between Moscow and the military alliance to a “critical zero” level, he stated in an interview with the Russian state-run news agency RIA.
He added that Russia had no intention of initiating a military conflict with NATO or its members.
On Thursday, the NATO foreign ministers will conclude their two-day summit in Brussels. They reached an agreement on Wednesday, at the urging of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, to advance the process of ensuring Ukraine receives weapons on an ongoing basis. Nonetheless, some opposed suggestions to establishing a $107 billion five-year fund.
