Early Monday, a Russian drone attack targeted a five-storey apartment building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of five individuals and injuring over a dozen, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The pre-dawn strike demolished part of the structure and ignited fires on at least three floors, reported regional governor Oleg Synegubov on Telegram.
Synegubov noted that four drones were launched at the building by Russia.
Ukraine’s state emergency service shared videos depicting rescuers attempting to clear debris to rescue a trapped resident, alongside footage of a burning floor.
The Ukrainian prosecution service stated, “Among the five fatalities was a girl around one-and-a-half years old.”
“At least 18 individuals sustained injuries and experienced severe shock, including children,” they added.
Earlier, a ballistic missile struck the city near the Russian border, injuring at least 11 people, according to Mayor Igor Terekhov.
The southern Odesa region was also targeted by drone strikes on Monday morning, igniting a fire at a fuel facility, as reported by regional governor Oleg Kiper.
These attacks coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies’ expected arrival in Washington for discussions aimed at resolving the ongoing three-and-a-half-year conflict.
Prior to Zelensky’s Washington visit, US President Donald Trump remarked that Ukraine would not regain the annexed Crimean peninsula or join NATO under a peace agreement.
Zelensky has consistently resisted pressure to relinquish Crimea, the southern region annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russia, advancing on the battlefield for months, has suggested Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region in return for a ceasefire in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, where key cities remain under Kyiv’s control.
