Russian strike on Ukraine’s Kharkiv wounds 21

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city near the Russian border, has been hit relentlessly by Russian attacks this year – Copyright AFP Jack GUEZ

A Russian late-night strike on a residential neighbourhood of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv wounded 21 people, Kyiv said Sunday.

The strike hit late on Saturday, hours after Russian attacks killed five people — including two children — in central Ukraine. 

Kyiv earlier said it struck two ammunition depots in Russia this weekend, including what it called a key arsenal for Moscow’s invasion.

Kharkiv — which almost fell to Russian forces in 2022 before they were pushed back by the Ukrainian army — has seen relentless attacks this year. 

“Last night, Russia struck Kharkiv again, this time with aerial bombs targeting an ordinary residential building,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. 

“As a result, 21 people were injured, including an eight-year-old child and two 17-year-olds,” he added.  

Regional leader Oleg Synegubov said two people were in critical condition. He said dozens of residents were asleep when the building was struck. 

AFP saw rescuers scrambling through a heavily damaged building, with burned-out cars in the parking lot outside, using chainsaws to cut through walls to get to distressed residents in the dark. 

“Mama, mama, mama,” sobbed one woman, who struggled to breathe and was too scared to descend the stairs. 

Rescuers helped her down to find her mother, who hugged her tightly as the woman trembled.  

“She is scared,” her mother, Oleksandra Ivanivna, told AFP. “It’s not the first time.” 

Kharkiv — which was home to 1.4 million residents before Russia’s invasion — has been bombed heavily this year. 

“We were asleep. It (the building) was just blown up… the place is a wreck,” Ivanivna said. 

– Kyiv long-range strikes call –

The city’s mayor Igor Terekhov said at the site: “As you can see, there are no military here.” 

“Every day and every night Kharkiv suffers the hits,” he added. 

AFP saw an elderly man with his head bandaged being brought to an ambulance, as well as a man whose face was covered in blood, holding a small terrier dog. 

Zelensky said the attack showed why his forces needed to use weapons supplied by Western allies to strike deeper into Russian territory, which so far they have refused to authorise.

He is due in the United States in the coming days, in a last-ditch effort to convince the West to let Kyiv use delivered long-range weapons to hit Russian targets. 

“We need to strengthen our capabilities to better protect lives and ensure safety. Ukraine needs full long-range capabilities,” he said. 

“We are working to convince our partners of this. We will continue these discussions next week.”

In Washington, he is due to hold talks with Joe Biden, as well as both US presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.