Russian attack on Kharkiv leaves seven dead and 16 injured

Editor’s note: Story is being updated.

On May 23, Russian forces launched attacks on Kharkiv Oblast. At least seven people were killed and at least 16 injured in Kharkiv. At least seven other people were also injured elsewhere in the oblast, local officials and a Kyiv Independent reporter reported.

Kharkiv and other regional settlements have come under increasingly intense attacks since Russia launched an attack new offensive in the oblast earlier on May 10.

Journalist Kyiv Independent reported several explosions in Kharkiv at 10:30 a.m. local time. Governor Oleh Syniehubov and Mayor Ihor Terekhov said about ten explosions were heard in the city.

The attacks were directed against the transport infrastructure and the building of a municipal service company mayor said.

A local printing plant received a direct hit, resulting in a fire, the governor said, adding that more than 50 employees were inside during the attack.

All six people who were killed were “at the epicenter” of this attack, Syniehubov told reporters in a briefing attended by the Kyiv Independent journalist.

Suspilne reported that the store belonged to the Vivat publishing house.

Russian forces carried out 15 attacks against Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region, probably with S-300 missiles, said regional prosecutor’s office spokesman Dmytro Chubenko Suspilne.

Oleksandr Filchakov, the head of the regional prosecutor’s office, confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Russia had attacked the city with S-300 missiles.

Two people were injured in Zolochiv, a village about 35 kilometers north of Kharkiv, and five others in Lyubotyn, a town about 15 kilometers west of the regional center, officials said.

In Lyubotyn, S-300 rockets hit the area of ​​the train station, Chubenko said.

Zolochiv was hit by guided aerial bombs, damaging a local kindergarten, Syniehubov reported.

Ukrainian Railways reported that six of its employees were injured in attacks on Kharkiv Oblast and several of its facilities were hit both in Kharkiv and elsewhere.

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