Russian forces struck a residential high-rise in Kharkiv's Saltivka district on the morning of 9 August 2026, killing two people and injuring more than 20 others, according to city and oblast officials. The strike collapsed several upper floors and trapped residents inside. Firefighters carried people down from the top stories while a second strike hit a neighboring building.
A missile through the upper floors
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported the strike on Saltivka shortly after 07:00. He said Russia had hit a multi-apartment residential building. Minutes later he confirmed the blast destroyed floors 7 through 10, with wounded people inside.
Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, first described a Russian drone strike that killed two. His administration later clarified that a missile hit the high-rise, and that Russia also struck an office building nearby.
Residents were trapped behind the collapse, and crews began a rescue operation. Firefighters brought seven people down from the upper floors, the State Emergency Service reported. The destroyed ceilings sat between the seventh and tenth floors.
As the rescue got underway, Russia struck again. Terekhov said a neighboring high-rise was hit, writing that Russia "is deliberately striking residential buildings" and urging people to shelter. A third impact followed in one of the district's parks.
Russia regularly employs the double-tap tactic — striking a site, then hitting it again once rescuers arrive — to maximize casualties among first responders.
Two dead, 21 wounded, a boy of five among them
Terekhov counted a dozen wounded at first, then confirmed two people killed at the site. Syniehubov gave the fuller account: two men, aged 50 and 66, killed, and at least 21 people injured.
Among the wounded was a five-year-old boy. 11 people suffered blast injuries and two had carbon monoxide poisoning. Another eight, including a child, had acute stress reactions, and medics hospitalized four.
By late morning, Syniehubov said crews were still clearing the collapsed floors to be sure no one remained underneath. Specialists would then judge whether the building could still be used.
A day of strikes across the oblast
Over the past 24 hours, Russia struck Kharkiv and 12 settlements across the oblast, killing three people and wounding or shocking 25, the regional administration said.
In Izium, shelling injured eight people. Russia killed a 68-year-old man in Kivsharivka, near Kupiansk, and wounded a 47-year-old woman in Mykhailivka. In Lozova, a 60-year-old woman was hurt, and a transit evacuation point there took in 227 more people.
