Russia bombed a hardware store in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday afternoon, killing at least six people and injuring at least 40. Ukrainian officials saidThe attack was the latest in an ongoing bombing campaign against the city that has made life increasingly difficult and dangerous for civilians.
Oleg Sinihubov, head of the Kharkiv region’s military administration, said 16 people were still missing, meaning the death toll could rise. He added The center of Kharkiv was hit by another airstrike on SaturdayUrumqi, Ukraine’s second largest city, was shelled, injuring at least 14 people.
“For the entire day, Kharkiv has been under attack by Russian terrorists. Air strikes in the Kharkiv region have been going on for more than 12 hours,” President Zelensky said. Wrote on social media.
Zelensky added that Saturday’s attack highlighted Ukraine’s recent calls for Western allies to provide it with air defense systems and other weapons capable of shooting down Russian missile- and bomb-firing aircraft. “If Ukraine had adequate air defense systems and modern fighter jets, Russia would not have launched such an attack,” he said.
video and photo A photo posted online by Ukrainian officials showed large amounts of black smoke billowing from the supermarket as firefighters worked to put out the blaze, which authorities said had burned more than 10,000 square meters.
Kharkiv currently has 1.3 million residents and is only 25 miles from the Russian border. Russian air strikes have increased in recent monthsUkrainian officials and military experts said the move was intended to intimidate residents and create panic.
Saturday’s attack came just two days after a missile strike hit a major book printing plant in the city, killing seven people and injuring 21. Zelensky said the fire caused by the attack destroyed 50,000 books.
The attack on the printing house shocked Ukraine, with videos shared online showing charred bodies and piles of books reduced to ash. Kharkiv is Ukraine’s publishing hub, and many people saw the airstrike as further evidence of an airstrike by Ukrainian government forces. The Kremlin is trying to wipe out Ukrainian culture.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Saturday’s attack. Write on XSocial media platform Facebook, formerly Twitter, said the attack was “unacceptable”.
Mr. Syniehubov said the hardware store, part of the Epicentr chain, was hit by two powerful aerial bombs at midday. Known as glide bombs, these weapons can drop hundreds of pounds of explosives in a single blast, destroying multistory buildings.
Russia has used bombs primarily to destroy positions on the Ukrainian front and aid its military advance – a strategy that was particularly successful in its capture of the eastern city of Avdiivka in February.
But Moscow has also been dropping such bombs on Kharkiv since March. Air defenses have a hard time shooting them down, so there is little that can be done.
Ukrainian officials say the only solution is to shoot down the launcher But the bombs are designed to have a range of tens of miles, so Russian warplanes can launch them from inside Russia, far away from Ukrainian air defenses. Western allies prohibit Ukraine from firing Western-supplied long-range missiles at Russia.
“Kharkov was shelled, everyone died, including children – this is their huge advantage. Bombs are used every day – this is their huge advantage,” Zelensky said in an interview. Interviewed by The New York Times last week.
Ukrainian leaders urged Western allies to lift a ban on firing missiles into Russian territory and to increase the number of F-16 fighter jets that can shoot down long-range targets sent to Kiev.
“Are there suitable weapons in the world to deal with this situation? Yes. Are there suitable weapons that are better than what Russia has? Yes. Does Ukraine have both elements – sufficient numbers and permissions? No,” Zelensky said in the interview.
