Russia-Ukraine conflict: Three killed, 31 wounded in Russian strike on Kharkiv

Russia continues to bombard Ukraine with missiles and mines as the war is moving towards its fifth month. Russian forces struck the region of Kharkiv, killing three people and wounding 31 others, according to Kyiv.

The regional governor reported that Russian missiles struck Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Monday, leaving three people dead and 31 people wounded from the attack. The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, shared on the Telegram messaging platform that Russian missiles struck civilian infrastructure including commercial property and a tire repair shop.

Terekhov said the areas that were targeted “had no military significance” to justify the bombardment of the city. Terekhov added that amongst those who were rushed to the hospital for treatment were children aged four and 16.

“Several shells hit the yards of private houses. Garages and cars were also destroyed, several fires broke out,” said regional governor Oleh Synehubov.

Another strike hit a school Monday, including a residential building. Rescuers were able to save an elderly woman from the rubble, and no fatalities were reported.

Kharkiv is close to the border Ukraine shares with Russia and was among the first cities to be bombarded by Russian forces at the early onset of the war back in February. While Kharkiv later experienced a calm period, Russian shelling of the city resumed in recent weeks.

Ukraine, which has been constantly supplied with weapons from the West and many other countries, also recently launched its counterattack on Russian forces. Kyiv said Tuesday that it managed to carry out a long-range rocket strike against Russian forces in Ukraine’s southern territory in a counteroffensive with hundreds of thousands of troops.

Kyiv said the strike hit an ammunition dump in Nova Kakhovka in Kherson, killing 52 Russian troops. The strike came as the United States supplied Ukraine with HIMARS mobile artillery systems which Ukraine says its troops are beginning to use with greater effectiveness.

The area Ukraine struck was an area that Russian forces seized and plays a strategic role in the access to the Black Sea, and is an area just north of the Russian-annexed Crimea region.

Officials in Kyiv have discussed efforts to gather up to one million troops with the goal of recapturing the southern parts of Ukraine that is occupied by Russian forces.