War against Ukraine
Russia focuses drone strike on Kharkiv
A block of flats in Kharkiv is damaged after a Russian attack. photo
© —/Ukrinform/dpa
No Ukrainian city is currently being attacked from the air as massively as Kharkiv. Life in the megacity near the Russian border is becoming increasingly difficult.
Russia launched its drone attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of over a million people on Sunday night Kharkiv concentrated. Explosions could be heard in the city, which has been repeatedly bombarded from the air for weeks. “Kharkiv is a danger zone. The city is being attacked by Shahed drones,” wrote Mayor Ihor Terekhov on Telegram. There was no information on injuries.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported in the morning that all ten attacking Russian combat drones over the Kharkiv region had been shot down. The military information could not be independently verified. The target of the attack was the city’s critical infrastructure, said regional governor Oleh Synjehubow. The public channel Suspilne reported that there was a power outage in some parts of the city after the attack.
Only about 40 kilometers from the Russian border
Before the Russian war of aggression, Kharkiv had around 1.5 million inhabitants. Ukraine’s second largest city is only about 40 kilometers from the Russian border. That’s why Russian rockets and bombs hit there with virtually no warning. Since mid-March, Russia has increased its attacks on the city. The power supply is severely affected. It is feared that these attacks will gradually make Kharkiv uninhabitable.
Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for over two years. According to authorities, on Saturday evening there was a hit on the village of Wessele, which is located in the Kharkiv region close to the border with Russia. A man and a woman were found dead in the rubble of a house.
The Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Sunday that ten Ukrainian combat drones had been intercepted over the southern Russian region of Krasnodar in the morning. Information about the targets and possible effects of this attack were not provided.