Casualties From Russia’s Friday Kharkiv Strike Close to 100, Says Officials

Casualties from Russia’s Friday air strike on Kharkiv have risen to seven dead and 97 injured, 22 of which were minors, according to a local official.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, lies around 40 km (25 miles) from the Russian border and has been bombed persistently by Russian forces since they launched their invasion in February 2022.

Regional head Oleh Sinehubov updated on Telegram on Saturday morning that Russia’s bombardment on civilian objects, using FAB-500 bombs, damaged “82 apartment buildings, 11 private houses, 3 administrative buildings, 2 educational institutions, 47 commercial establishments, 57 cars, 2 warehouses, 10 garages and 1 enterprise premises.”

Sinehubov said the number of victims rose to seven on Friday evening. He added that “97 people were injured, 22 of them minors. The condition of five children is satisfactory, and the condition of a 17-year-old girl is severe.”

Initial reports after the attack listed four dead and 28 injured.

After the attack, Sinehubov cautioned that one of the houses being hit had risks of collapsing.

On Friday evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the necessity for Kyiv’s allies to lift restrictions on striking airfields inside Russia with Western long-range weapons to stop Russian aerial bombardments.

“This strike was carried out using a Russian guided aerial bomb – a strike that could have been prevented if our Defense Forces had the capability to destroy Russian military aircraft at their bases. We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror,” Zelenksy said on social media.

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