By: Manoah Kikekon
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| Drone strike |
KHARKIV, UKRAINE – A devastating wave of Russian drone and missile strikes has left one woman dead and at least nine people injured—including two children following a direct hit on residential buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
The assault is part of a sweeping, multi-region aerial bombardment that targeted civilian infrastructure across Ukraine over the weekend, reigniting international concern over the ongoing conflict.
Confirming the attack in a statement shared on X on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy detailed the human toll of the overnight strikes and outlined the immediate emergency response.
“All the necessary emergency services have been deployed at the site of an attack drone strike on residential buildings in Kharkiv,” President Zelenskyy wrote. “Tragically, one person was killed, and nine others were injured, including two children.”
Local authorities confirmed that the 40-year-old victim succumbed to her injuries at the scene. Emergency rescue crews, police, and medical personnel continue to comb through the rubble of the damaged residential structures, searching for possible survivors or additional victims trapped beneath debris.
The Kharkiv strike was part of a larger, coordinated aerial offensive launched by Russian forces. According to the Ukrainian leadership, Moscow deployed a staggering arsenal comprising eight missiles and 136 attack drones of various types across the country.
The nationwide onslaught affected multiple regions, including Kherson, Donetsk, Dnipro, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, and the capital city of Kyiv. In Kyiv alone, ballistic missiles struck urban areas, leaving at least three people injured and causing extensive structural damage.
Ukrainian air defense units successfully intercepted and shot down a significant portion of the incoming projectiles, but the sheer volume of the barrage overwhelmed defenses in several locations.
As rescue and recovery operations persist in Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials continue to call on international allies for enhanced air defense systems to protect civilian populations from escalating aerial attacks.