At least four people were killed and about 40 injured in the attack, according to Ukrainian authorities late Saturday. But the death toll could have been clearly higher as the department store often attracted many customers on a weekend.
According to Governor Oleg Synegubov, the fire had spread over an area of over 15,000 square meters.
It happened so suddenly. We didn’t understand what happened, everything went black. Then everything started to fall on us, the janitor Ljubov told the AFP reporter on the spot immediately after the attack.
It was lucky that I had my phone that unlocked so we could find a way out. Everything in front of us was on fire, said Ljubov who was still dressed in his cleaning uniform.
“Unacceptable attack”
The large department store Epitsentr on the outskirts of Kharkiv sells both household goods and construction materials, and the attack on the civilian target is therefore seen as extra malicious.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media immediately after the attack that “over 200 people could have been inside the supermarket”, and the region’s governor said it could not be certain that all visitors managed to get out.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on the X that the Russian attack “is unacceptable”.
“France shares Ukraine’s pain and remains fully mobilized by Ukraine’s side,” Macron continued.
Russia claimed via the state-controlled Tass news agency that the attack targeted “a military store and a military communications center”.
Post office rocketed
Later on Saturday, a Russian robot crashed in central Kharkiv, in an area with a post office, a hairdresser and a cafe, according to the city’s mayor, Igor Terechov. 14 people were injured in the attack.
On Thursday, seven civilians were killed in an attack on the town, which is located two miles from the Russian border. The Kharkiv region has been subject to stepped-up Russian attacks in recent weeks.
Firefighters battle the fire in Kharkiv.
Firefighters battle the fire in Kharkiv.
Photo: Andrii Marienko/AP/TT