A day of mourning has been declared in Kharkiv on Saturday as rescue teams concluded their operations after a Russian airstrike killed at least six civilians, including a child in a playground.
The attack, one of the most devastating in the region this summer, injured nearly 100 people, including 24 children.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Moscow targeted the city with five guided aerial bombs, causing widespread devastation.
Among those killed was 14-year-old Sofia, who was in a playground when the bombs struck.
“These horrific, cowardly Russian strikes targeted ordinary homes and a city park. Russia will be held accountable for all its evil deeds,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
He once again urged Western allies to increase military support to counter Russia’s aggression.
The head of the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office, Oleksandr Filchakov, described the attack as a “massive bombardment” carried out by Russian Su-34 fighter jets launched from the Belgorod region.
The bombs, each weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 lbs), were launched from Russian territory and are difficult to intercept, Ukrainian officials reported.
“This is a bomb with a control module, which means that the enemy was specifically targeting residential infrastructure,” said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.
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Zelensky has repeatedly argued that the best way to prevent such attacks is to strike the aircraft carrying these bombs.
He urged the United States and Western allies to lift restrictions on using long-range weapons to target military sites within Russia.
The guided bombs hit civilian infrastructure in four districts of Kharkiv, damaging 82 apartment buildings, 11 private houses, and numerous commercial and educational facilities, Filchakov said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continued their attacks across the border into Russia.
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported that at least five people were killed and more than 50 injured in Ukrainian attacks over the past 24 hours.
Most casualties occurred in the city of Belgorod, where three people were killed and 31 others, including children, were wounded.
Ukrainian forces also made advances in Russia’s Kursk region, gaining control of additional territory, according to Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
In addition to the casualties in Kharkiv, Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory have killed at least three people and injured 16 in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian officials reported.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian forces had launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile, four S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, and 52 Shahed drones in overnight attacks on Ukraine.
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