Ukraine war: Russian bomb attack kills three, injures dozens in Kharkiv

Two children among the injured from attack on apartment building in Ukraine’s second largest city

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a glide bomb attack on a residential building in Kharkiv. Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a glide bomb attack on a residential building in Kharkiv. Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA

Russian-guided bombs struck an apartment building in Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv, on Saturday, killing three people, injuring 29 and prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to call for more help from Kyiv’s allies.

Pictures posted online showed parts of an apartment building in ruins, with windows smashed, balconies shattered and rubble strewn about a crater on the ground.

Interior minister Ihor Klymenko put the casualty toll at three dead and 29 injured in the mid-afternoon attack. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said two children were among the injured and four of those hurt were in serious condition.

“This Russian terror through guided bombs must be stopped and can be stopped,” Mr Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.

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People help an elderly woman at the site of a glide bomb attack on a residential building in Kharkiv. Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA
People help an elderly woman at the site of a glide bomb attack on a residential building in Kharkiv. Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA

“We need strong decisions from our partners to enable us to stop the Russian terrorists and Russian military aviation right where they are.”

Mr Syniehubov said rescue work was proceeding. Other civilian targets had also been hit and public transport halted.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there had been four strikes.

A damaged flat following a Russian bomb attack on an apartment building in Kharkiv. Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA
A damaged flat following a Russian bomb attack on an apartment building in Kharkiv. Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA

Kharkiv lies about 30km from the border with Russia. The city of about 1.3 million people has frequently been targeted in Russian attacks during nearly 28 months of war.

Russia has relied increasingly on the use of the bombs, relatively inexpensive, dropped from a distance and involving fewer risks for its forces. – Reuters