Russian strike in Ukraine’s Kharkiv injures 21

A Russian strike on a residential area in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv injured 21 people, including three children, according to the regional governor on Sunday .

Oleg Synegubov shared on Telegram that eight victims were hospitalized, with two in critical condition, following the late Saturday attack. At the time, many people were asleep in the two multistory buildings that were struck.

Russia has frequently targeted Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, located near the Russian border. Before the war, which began in February 2022, the city had a population of 1.4 million.

Rescue teams searched through the rubble using flashlights, as an AFP reporter on the scene witnessed. One young girl, overcome with fear, clung to a wall in the corridor, crying for her mother, too scared to go downstairs.

A rescuer gently took her hand and reassured her, saying, "Everything is OK," as he led her to her mother, Oleksandra.

"It just exploded. It’s devastating inside; everything is destroyed," Oleksandra said.

At the scene, Kharkiv's mayor, Igor Terekhov, emphasized, "As you can see, there are no military targets here."

"Kharkiv is hit every day and every night," he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the attack as a reason why his forces need to use Western-supplied weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory, a move that allies have thus far resisted.

"We need to strengthen our defense capabilities to protect lives and secure our safety," Zelenskyy stated, ahead of his upcoming trip to the U.S., where he plans to address the U.N. General Assembly and hold meetings in Washington.

News.Az