(Kyiv) At least 17 people were injured Tuesday evening in a Russian strike targeting Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, located in the northeast near the border with Russia, the regional governor announced.
Among the injured, “two women are in serious condition,” Oleg Sinegoubov said on Telegram.
According to this source, Russian forces struck the center of Kharkiv with two S-300 surface-to-air missiles and damaged residential buildings.
Russia regularly bombs the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian authorities announced on Tuesday the evacuation of 26 villages due to the threat of an assault by Moscow’s forces in the area.
During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, a Russian drone attack also targeted the city of Odessa (south) according to the head of the military administration of the region, Oleg Kiper.
The attack injured three civilians and damaged residential buildings, Kiper said on Telegram.
“A 62-year-old man was injured by projectile fragments […] A woman born in 1955 and a young woman born in 1995 were injured,” he explained.
For its part, Russia says it repelled an attack early Wednesday on the Russian town of Belgorod, across the border.
“Air defense destroyed seven missiles and four Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“According to preliminary data, no casualties have been reported,” however, indicated the governor of the region Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Ukraine frequently bombs the Russian city of Belgorod and surrounding villages. These strikes have multiplied and increased in intensity in recent weeks, in retaliation for Russian fire.