Missile attack on Kharkiv apartment kills two
Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that two people, including a three-year-old child, were killed and approximately 28 others were injured in a Russian attack on Kharkiv.
A high-rise apartment block was almost completely destroyed in a double missile attack on Friday afternoon that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “disgusting”.
The Russian Ministry of Defense denied reports of the attack and claimed on Telegram that the explosion in the region was caused by the explosion of Ukrainian ammunition.
The strike took place when Ukraine was to host critical talks in Kiev on Saturday.
Zelensky said that about 15 countries, as well as representatives from the European Union and NATO, are expected to attend the talks, and a US delegation is expected to attend the meeting via video link. It comes ahead of a meeting of leaders of the so-called coalition in France on January 6.
Kharkiv authorities said the bodies of a woman and a three-year-old child were found under the rubble, and preliminary information suggests that the couple may be a mother and son.
“Unfortunately, this is how the Russians treat life and people; they continue to kill, despite all the efforts of the world and especially the United States in the diplomatic process,” Zelensky wrote to
16 of the 28 injured, including a 6-month-old baby, were hospitalized.
According to an update from Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov, a search and rescue operation is ongoing at the scene, with more than 80 volunteers working.
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation did not plan or launch attacks using missile weapons or aircraft weapons within the city of Kharkiv,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement to Telegram. he said.
He added that video footage from before the attack showed “thick smoke of unknown whereabouts”, which he cited as evidence of munitions detonated by Ukrainian armed forces.
The ministry also claimed the reports were intended to distract the world from a New Year’s Eve attack on a hotel in the Russian-held part of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.
Russia has accused Ukraine of killing at least 27 people and wounding more than 30 in a drone attack on a New Year’s Eve party in the Black Sea village of Khorly.
The BBC was unable to independently verify either these claims or the death toll.
When asked for comment by the BBC, Ukraine said it would not respond directly to sources of information such as claims by governors of the occupied territories.
He added that it adhered to the norms of international humanitarian law and carried out attacks only on military targets.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had launched an investigation into the attack, while Russia’s foreign ministry accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of “trying to intimidate the peoples of the reunited Russian regions that have forever tied their fate to Russia through referendums.”
