At least three killed, and at least 64 people injured after intense Russian drone attack on Kharkiv, says Ukraine

A Russian drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has left at least three people dead and at least 64 others injured, including five children. The nine-minute strike on Tuesday involved 17 drones and caused fires and significant damage to residential and public areas in the city.

The assault, involving 17 drones, ignited fires in 15 units of a five-storey apartment building and caused significant damage in the city, located near the Russian border, according to the Kharkiv Mayor, Ihor Terekhov.

Terekhov detailed on Telegram that there were direct hits on multi-storey buildings, private homes, playgrounds, businesses, and public transport.

Nine of the injured, including a 2-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, have been hospitalised, Oleh Sinehubov, the governor of the broader Kharkiv region, said on Telegram.

Local emergency services shared footage showing firefighters combating fires in the damaged buildings. Reuters could not independently verify the location or timing of the footage.

A Reuters witness saw rescuers assisting victims from damaged buildings, providing medical care, and firefighters battling flames in the darkness.

Kharkiv, located in northeastern Ukraine, resisted Russia's full-scale offensive in the war's early days and has remained a frequent target of air strikes.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said Russia had launched a total of 85 drones overnight, not just at Kharkiv, 40 of which were shot down. It said nine drones were lost - a reference to the Ukrainian military using electronic warfare to redirect them - or they were drone simulators that did not carry warheads.

"The main areas of the air strike are Kharkiv, Donetsk and Odesa regions," the military said on Telegram.

Tuesday nights attacks follow after Russia launched its two largest assaults of the war on Ukraine earlier this week, part of a broader intensification of bombings that Moscow claimed were in retaliation for Kyiv's recent attacks on Russian territory.

There was no immediate response from Russia. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war that began in February 2022.

Copied