Russian attack on Kharkiv kills 16
A Russian strike on a crowded DIY hardware store in Kharkiv killed 16 people and wounded dozens more, Ukrainian prosecutors said yesterday morning, the death toll rising as the country's second-largest city reeled from two attacks a day earlier.
Two guided bombs hit the Epicentr DIY hypermarket in a residential area of the city on Saturday evening, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on national television, adding that "unfortunately, 16 have already been recorded dead".
The strikes caused a massive fire which sent a column of thick, black smoke billowing hundreds of metres into the air.
Forty-three people were injured, the local prosecutors' office said, adding that ten of the twelve dead had still not been identified. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said about 120 people had been in the hardware store when the bombs struck.
"The attack targeted the shopping centre, where there were many people - this is clearly terrorism," Terekhov said. In a post on the Telegram app, Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 16 people were still missing after the strike.
The past week has seen an uptick in strikes on the city after Russian troops stormed across the border, opening a new front north of the city.
Russia has bombarded Kharkiv, which lies less than 30 kilometres (20 miles) from its border, throughout the war, having reached its outskirts in a failed bid to capture it in 2022.
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