Russia hits Kharkiv Experts inspect a crater near a multi-story residential building destroyed by a missile strike in central Kharkiv on January 2, 2024. — AFP
Russia hits Kharkiv with S-300
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s regional governor said the latest Russian strikes using S-300 missiles hit a demilitarized zone in Kharkiv, injuring at least 16 people, including two in critical condition. A few days after in which three people were killed in the same area.
According to the governor of the city, Oleg Senigobov, the missiles hit residential buildings.
The Ukrainian city of Kharkiv is 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Russian border and has been under constant attack since Russia launched its special military operation in February 2022.
After the attacks, the mayor said that there were no military targets in the area and some residential buildings had been destroyed.
Officials urged about 3,000 residents of more than two dozen villages near the front line in the wider Kharkiv region to evacuate, citing increasing Russian attacks in the area.
January 2, 2024 Firefighters try to put out a fire in a multi-story residential building destroyed by a missile attack in central Kiev. — AFP
Russian forces captured the Kharkiv region shortly after a special military operation in Ukraine, and despite losing ground there, efforts to retake the region continue.
The latest attack took place on January 8 in the Zmiiv, Kharkiv region, nearly two weeks after the Russian attacks were targeted, killing at least three people.
On December 30 last year, at least 30 people were killed and more than 160 injured after Russia launched its largest-ever missile barrage on Kyiv, along with several other Ukrainian cities.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed in a statement that Russia had “used almost every type of weapon in its arsenal”, targeting residences as well as a maternity hospital.
According to the spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia’s air defenses have significantly improved and are more powerful.
He said Russia used ballistic missiles, hypersonics, and cruises, including the X-22 type, which are difficult to intercept, adding: “We have never seen so many targets at once.”
The Air Force said 114 out of 158 missiles and drones were shot down. Devastation to this extent can only be caused by a direct missile attack.
For months, the damage and casualties that Ukrainians expected to continue were mainly due to falling debris. Now, a major threat has reappeared.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Agant said it was the “biggest missile attack” of the war and a “record number” of missiles, excluding the early days of sustained bombardment.