In a series of targeted attacks, Russian forces struck Kharkiv on Saturday evening, launching over six strikes that inflicted damage to civilian infrastructure.
Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov and Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Synyegubov reported the attacks on Telegram. Terekhov described a series of explosions, while Synyegubov urgently advised Kharkiv residents to seek shelter.
The aftermath reveals 17 casualties, including a minor and a journalist from the United Kingdom.
“Occupiers struck the central part of Kharkiv. There is damage to civilian infrastructure: medical institutions, apartment buildings, shops, and other public places, as well as transportation. Exclusively civilian infrastructure!” Synegubov wrote.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, the hotel Kharkiv Palace is among the damaged structures.
- At 20:23, Terekhov reported that, according to preliminary information, there were no fatalities due to the shelling. “At the moment, we have 14 injured. According to preliminary information, 5 are already in the hospital,” the message read.
- Later, the number of injured increased to 16. According to Synegubov, as of 20:30, 8 people were hospitalized.
“Among the injured due to the occupier’s strike on a residential building is a 16-year-old boy hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, in moderate condition,” as the Head of the Regional State Administration wrote.
Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Klymenko reported that among the casualties from the shelling in Kharkiv is a journalist from the United Kingdom. Mayor Igor Terekhov, during a televised marathon, stated that “17 residents of Kharkiv and those who were affected in the hotel have approached doctors.”
“There was an impact on the central hotel in Kharkiv, where people who suffered injuries were present. Additionally, there was an impact and explosions in a residential building, where there are also injuries and serious destruction,” the mayor explained.
The Ukrainian Air Force had previously issued warnings about potential ballistic weapon threats in various regions, including Kharkiv. An updated statement from Synyegubov revealed that the strikes specifically targeted the central part of Kharkiv, resulting in damage to civilian infrastructure.
Mayor Terekhov concurrently reported a direct hit on a residential building in the city center, causing serious damage and igniting a subsequent fire. Earlier Synyegubov reported that medical professionals were providing assistance to eight casualties, all of whom have been hospitalized, with four individuals in a moderately severe condition and four in a mild state.
During the previous day, overnight and on the morning of 29 December, Russia launched a massive air attack on Ukraine, which resulted in killing 39 civilian people, while 159 people were injured. 120 cities and villages suffered from the attack.
Russian unprecedented air attack kills 39, injures 160, hits maternity ward, mall (updated)
Related:
- Russian recent attacks killed 2, injured 9 in Kherson, Donetsk, Kharkiv oblasts
- Kharkiv offensive, News from Ukraine
- Regional leader: Kharkiv Oblast’s Synkivka under Ukrainian control, contrary to Russian advance claims
- Russian morning shelling injures two in Kharkiv Oblast
- Frontline report: Russian convoy destroyed in Synkivka forest ambush near Kharkiv’s Kupiansk
- Ukraine to build underground school in Kharkiv
- Russian troops strike village in Kharkiv Oblast with aerial bomb, killing two, injuring one
