A Russian guided bomb struck a high-rise residential building in Kharkiv on Sunday afternoon, killing one person and wounding at least 41 others. Mayor Igor Terekhov added that the bomb hit the building's 10th floor and the fire spread to the fourth floor. The body of a 94-year-old woman was recovered from the building's ninth floor, Kharkiv's prosecutor's office said in a Telegram message. Twelve other buildings were also damaged, Terekhov said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday night that rescue efforts were underway at the 12-story building. Some people were trapped under rubble. Three of the 35 injured were children, he said. “Four airstrikes were dropped in this single attack on Kharkiv, one hitting a building in the city and the other three hitting villages in the area,” he said. Russia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the attack but denies it intentionally targets civilians, despite having killed thousands of them since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
On Sunday, President Zelensky renewed his call for a shift in Western countries' policy on the use of long-range weapons. He said Russia was conducting at least 100 airstrikes a day, comparable to the attack that hit Kharkiv. “The only way to counter this terrorism is a systemic solution – long-range capabilities to destroy Russian military airbases. This is an obvious and logical solution. We have already explained to all our partners why Ukraine really needs sufficient long-range capabilities,” he said on Xinhua.
Moscow and Kiev exchanged drone and missile attacks over the weekend. The Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday it had shot down 10 of 14 drones and one of three missiles launched by Russia overnight. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down 29 Ukrainian drones in the west and southwest since Sunday night, but that no damage had been caused by falling debris. It also said one Ukrainian drone had been shot down in the western Ryazan region on Sunday morning.
The Ukrainian military is suffering heavy losses because weapons from the West are arriving too late to properly equip the troops.Zelenskiy made the remarks in an interview with CNN broadcast Sunday. Russia has been expanding its presence in parts of eastern Ukraine, including around Pokrovsk. Controlling a key transport hub could open up new avenues of attack for Moscow. Zelenskiy called the situation in the east “very tough,” adding that half of Ukrainian brigades are ill-equipped.
“And so many people will die. People will die because they are not in armored vehicles. They don't have artillery, they don't have shells,” Zelensky said in English. The interview took place on Friday, according to CNN. Zelensky said that arms support packages promised by the United States and European countries have been arriving very slowly. “We need 14 brigades to be ready. Until now, not even four brigades have been equipped from these packages,” he said. The only thing Russian President Vladimir Putin fears is a reaction if his people suffer from the costs of war, Zelensky said. “Make Ukraine strong and you will see him sit down and negotiate.”
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Saturday that Washington was working on a “substantial” new package of assistance for Ukraine..
Zelenskiy is due to meet President Joe Biden this month to lay out his plan to end the war, which he said would focus on security and diplomatic support as well as military and economic assistance.
