The number of people killed in the Russian missile attack on Kharkiv on 2 January has risen to six, Kharkiv Regional Military Administration head Oleh Syniehubov said on 4 January. Another body fragment was found at the site of the strike, prompting the updated death toll.
Russian forces hit a residential area in central Kharkiv with two ballistic missiles, destroying a five-story building and damaging part of the entrance to a four-story apartment block. More than 30 residential buildings and a hospital were affected, with the heaviest damage concentrated in six buildings closest to the explosions.
Among the dead is a 22-year-old mother and her three-year-old son. At least 27 others were injured. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, and officials have warned that more people could still be trapped under the rubble.
Kharkiv under constant fire
Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city, located near the Russian border in the country’s northeast. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the city has been repeatedly targeted by missile, drone, and artillery strikes, despite remaining under Ukrainian control.
Although Russian forces failed to capture Kharkiv throughout the war, its proximity to the border has made it a frequent target of long-range attacks, with residential areas and civilian infrastructure regularly hit.
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