On Saturday, Russian guided bombs struck an apartment building in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, resulting in the deaths of three people and injuries to 52 others.
This incident prompted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to urge for more support to counter the escalating threat from such weapons.
Images posted online depicted the devastation: a five-story apartment building partially destroyed, with shattered windows, damaged balconies, and debris surrounding a ground-level crater.
Officials in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region reported three fatalities and 52 injuries from the mid-afternoon attack, including three children.
Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov mentioned that four of the injured were in serious condition.
“This Russian terror through guided bombs must be stopped and can be stopped,” Zelenskiy declared on Telegram.
“We need strong decisions from our partners to enable us to stop the Russian terrorists and Russian military aviation right where they are.”
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy revealed that Russian forces had deployed over 2,400 guided bombs on Ukrainian targets in June alone, with approximately 700 aimed at Kharkiv.
He emphasized that the U.S. Congress’s delayed approval of a significant aid package in April had allowed Ukraine to replenish its arms supplies, reducing the destruction and frequency of missile attacks. He stressed the need for similar action now to combat these bombings.
“The significant reduction in Russian missile terror against Kharkiv and the region proves it is entirely possible to secure our cities and communities from Russian bombs,” Zelenskiy said.
He called for the prompt delivery of promised military aid packages to realize the agreements reached with President Biden.
This month, Ukraine and the U.S. signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement to strengthen Ukraine’s defense against Russia and move it closer to NATO membership.
Russia has increasingly relied on relatively inexpensive guided bombs, dropped from a distance, posing fewer risks to its forces.
Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has made slow progress through the Donetsk region, capturing several villages since taking the key industrial town of Avdiivka over three months ago.
In the latest attack, Kharkiv’s Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported four strikes on the city. Governor Syniehubov stated that rescue operations were ongoing at the building, which housed a store on the ground floor.
Kharkiv Police Chief Serhiy Bolvinov confirmed that three floors had collapsed, but believed no one was trapped under the rubble.
Kharkiv, located about 30 km (20 miles) from the Russian border, has been a frequent target throughout the nearly 28 months of war.
Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians, yet thousands have been killed and injured during the conflict.