Russia has launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, killing seven people, including three young children, starting a fire and damaging infrastructure and homes, regional officials said on Saturday.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Sinevov said Russian forces attacked the city late Friday, damaging civilian infrastructure, starting several large fires and damaging at least 15 homes in eastern Kharkiv.
“As a result of the strike, seven people died, including three children, ages 7 and 4, and an infant about 6 months old,” he said on the messaging app Telegram.
Three people were reportedly injured.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced that a task force of air defense forces and drone hunters shot down 23 of 31 Russian-launched drones. The drones targeted the Kharkiv region in the country’s northeast and the Odesa region in the south.
In Kharkiv, head of the district prosecutor’s office Oleksandr Filchakov said in a video posted on Telegram that three drones had crashed into a gas station in the city’s Nemyshlyansky district.
“There was a large amount of fuel, which led to such a terrible outcome of the fire,” Filchakov said.
Firefighters and rescue workers worked throughout the night to deal with the impact of the strike, extinguish fires and clear debris, officials said.
Mr. Sinevov also said that Russian drones attacked a restaurant in the small town of Veliky Beruluk, about 100 miles from Kharkov.
He reported that there were no casualties.
Reuters could not independently confirm details of the attack.
Russia did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but said it did not intentionally target civilian facilities.
Kharkiv has been regularly attacked since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and has been the target of frequent attacks by Russia in recent weeks.
One person was injured in a drone attack in the Black Sea port of Odesa, the regional governor announced.
