“It’s clearly terrorism”: the toll of the Russian attack on a DIY store in Ukraine rises, 12 dead and 43 injured

Le bilan s'alourdit. MAXPPP – Nicolas Cleuet/Le Pictorium

Russian strikes on a crowded DIY store in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday left 12 people dead and 43 injured, and caused a massive fire, regional officials said.

Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv regional governor, said on national television that two guided bombs hit the hypermarket in a residential area of ​​the city.

This assessment is only provisional because 16 people are still missing, declared Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko on the radio. #39;Telegram messaging application.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said that around 120 people – customers and employees – were in the store at the time of the strikes.

#Kharkiv now 🤬

Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov commented on the attack: “We have a large number of people missing. There are many wounded. The strike was aimed at a shopping center where there were many people. This is pure terrorism."#RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/uxJYb3jKkQ

— Viktoriia 🌻 (@home_fella) May 25, 2024

"The attack was aimed at the shopping center, where a lot of people were – it's clearly terrorism“, added the mayor of Ukraine's second city, the target of Russian attacks for many weeks.

A city regularly targeted

On Saturday, early in the evening, a missile also hit a residential building in the city center, injuring 18 people, said Governor Oleh Syniehubov

The city of Kharkiv, which had 1.5 million inhabitants before the war and located near the Russian border in northeastern Ukraine, is regularly targeted by Moscow forces, who also launched a ground offensive in the region on May 10.

This offensive allowed them to seize several localities and force kyiv to dispatch valuable reinforcements to the sector. Ukraine, however, assured Friday that this assault had been "stopped".

Around fifteen Russian missiles struck the city of Kharkiv on Thursday, killing seven civilians and destroying a printing press, according to local authorities.