At least three people were killed and 52 others injured after Russian guided bombs hit an apartment building in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, on Saturday. Moscow and Kyiv on Sunday (Jun 23) also accused each other of launching several air attacks.
Russia launches missile attacks on Kyiv
Russia launched three missiles overnight on Ukraine, out of which air defence systems over Kyiv destroyed two, said Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk, on Sunday, in a post on Telegram. However, he did not say what happened to the third missile.
The Ukrainian capital, its surrounding region and several others across the war-torn country were under air raid alerts for about an hour on Sunday morning, starting at 4:50 am (local time), reported Reuters.
Ukraine launches drone attack
Ukraine launched dozens of drones overnight targeting several Russian regions, said local officials on Sunday.
At least 30 drones were destroyed over the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, said the regional governor.
Several drones were also destroyed over the Smolensk region, Vasily Anokhin, governor of the region in Russia’s west said.
As per preliminary information, there were no casualties or destruction in either region, the governors said.
Apartment building in Kharkiv attacked
Ukrainian officials said four Russian guided bombs hit an apartment building in Kharkiv. Images from the site show parts of the five-storey building in ruins with windows smashed, balconies wrecked and rubble scattered around a crater created on the ground due to the attack.
The prosecutors in Kharkiv said at least three were killed and 52 others, including three children, were injured in the mid-afternoon attack. They also said Russia used its new UMPB D-30 SN guided bombs, launched from the Belgorod region, for the attack on Kharkiv.
Kharkiv Police Chief Serhiy Bolvinov, as per Reuters, told public broadcaster Suspilne that three floors had collapsed, but they believe no one was trapped under the rubble.
Zelensky calls for military aid
The attack prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to call for more military aid for Kyiv to help deal with the growing threat of such weapons.
“This Russian terror through guided bombs must be stopped and can be stopped,” Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram after the attack.
He added, “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 address, on Saturday, the Ukrainian president said that Russian forces have used more than 2,400 guided bombs on Ukrainian targets in June alone, out of which some 700 were aimed at Kharkiv. He added, “This is calculated terror.”
Deadly attacks across Ukraine
A report by news agency AFP citing the regional military administration said Russian artillery shelling killed a civilian in Zaporizhzhia. A policeman manning a checkpoint was killed in a drone attack in the southern Kherson region, said the police.
Meanwhile, in Donetsk, regional head Vadym Filashkin said five civilians were killed by shelling in frontline areas.
(With inputs from agencies)
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