A nighttime Russian attack on residential buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city regularly targeted, left 21 people injured on Saturday evening. Among them were three minors aged between 8 and 17, the regional governor announced on Sunday, September 22.
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” 21 people were injured, including three children, a 17-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl ” wrote Oleg Synegoubov on Telegram. Eight people were hospitalized, two of them in serious condition, he added. The strike occurred late Saturday evening in a district of Kharkiv (northeast), a city very close to the Russian border and which had 1.4 million inhabitants before the war.
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There Russia ” targeted an ordinary residential building with aerial bombs “, denounced the president Volodymyr Zelensky on social networks. Dozens of residents were sleeping, according to Oleg Synegoubov, in the two high-rise residential buildings that were damaged, the governor said.
Rescuers search for injured in the middle of the night
During the night, rescuers with flashlights worked through the rubble of one of the damaged buildings. In one hallway, a trembling, sobbing resident clutched a wall, too frightened to go down the stairs and leave the building. Everything is fine “, one of the rescuers said calmly, taking her hand to guide her towards the exit. Mom, mom, mom, mom ” she repeated, her blond hair tied back in a ponytail. The resident, once she got off, hugged her mother, Oleksandra, who looked equally dazed. She is “ scared “, Oleksandra explained. At the time of the strike, ” we were sleeping ” she added as she was being evacuated. It just exploded. It’s terrible there, it’s in ruins. ” concluded Oleksandra.
The blast blew out the windows of the building and left gaping holes in some walls. Outside, some cars were crushed by falling tree branches, others charred. Inside the apartments, broken glass, wood and metal, some stained with blood, lay on the ground. One room was lit by a computer screen that was still on, a glimpse of daily life interrupted by the bombing.
Zelensky calls for long-range weapons
Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, who was on the scene, assured that it was a civilian target and that there was “no no military here “. ” Every day, every night, Kharkiv is subjected to strikes “, he said. The Ukrainian Air Force said Sunday that Russian forces had launched two missiles and 80 drones overnight, most of the latter of which were shot down. President Zelensky, responding to the attack on Kharkiv, again called for Ukraine to be allowed to use long-range weapons against Russian territory.
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kyiv has been demanding this for a long time, but some Western partners, led by the United States, fear Russia’s reaction. We must strengthen our capacities to better protect lives and ensure security “, insisted the Ukrainian president on Sunday, promising to ” convince » the allies.