Russian bomb attack leaves three dead and 29 injured in Kharkiv, Ukraine

KIEV (Reuters) – Russian guided bombs hit a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on Saturday, killing three people and injuring 29. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then called on Kiev’s allies to ask for further help.

Images posted online showed parts of a residential building in ruins, with smashed windows, shattered balconies and debris scattered like a crater on the ground.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko put the number of victims of the afternoon attack at three dead and 29 injured. The region’s governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said two children were among the injured and four of the injured were in serious condition.

“This Russian terror through guided bombs must be stopped and can be stopped,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

“We need strong decisions from our partners that will enable us to stop Russian terrorists and Russian military aviation exactly where they are.”

Syniehubov said rescue operations were underway, adding that other civilian targets had also been hit and public transport had come to a standstill.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there were four strikes.

Kharkiv is located about 30 kilometers from the border with Russia. The city, with about 1.3 million inhabitants, was often the target of Russian attacks during the war, which lasted almost 28 months.

Russia is increasingly relying on the use of such bombs because they are relatively inexpensive, can be dropped remotely and pose less risk to the Russian armed forces.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Jason Neely, Ron Popeski and Angus MacSwan)