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Girl, 14, among six killed by Russian attack on Kharkiv as 55 more injured, Ukrainian officials say
A 14-year-old girl was killed in a Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials have said.
At least six people were killed in all, as a 12-storey building was hit alongside a playground, in the industrial district.
The Russian-guided bomb attack in the northeastern city also left 55 people injured.
About 20 of the injured were in severe condition, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
“Occupiers killed a child right on the playground,” Ihor Terekhov, the city’s mayor, said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s second-largest city has long been a target for Russia, ever since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Cars burn after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters
Paramedics carry a person rescued from an apartment building after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters
An apartment building burns after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv.
Pic: Reuters
Elsewhere in the war in Ukraine:
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed calls to Western allies to allow long-range attacks on Russia
• Mr Zelenskyy also sacked Ukraine’s air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk, according to a presidential decree
• A Ukrainian F-16 pilot was shot down in friendly fire, an MP has claimed
• In the Kursk incursion, Ukraine’s top commander claimed his forces advanced 2km in the past 24 hours
• Russian forces have taken control of more settlements in eastern Ukraine, according to state media
• European Union defence ministers agreed to boost their training programme for Ukrainian troops
• A Russian newspaper publisher was sentenced to eight years after reporting on Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine, according to rights activists
• And the Kremlin insists it has “no worries” as President Vladimir Putin visits Mongolia, a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court, which last year issued a warrant for his arrest
Video from the site of the Kharkiv attack, shared by Mr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, showed huge flames and black smoke rising from the upper floors of the building.
In light of the attack, the Ukrainian president renewed his calls to Western allies to allow him to use their weapons in long-range attacks on Russia.
“A strike … would not have happened if our defence forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based. We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
Firefighters rescue a girl from the residential building hit in Kharkiv. Pic: Reuters
Ukrainian authorities said Friday’s attack involved five aerial-guided bombs launched from planes in Russia’s Belgorod region.
The US ambassador to Ukraine described the Kharkiv attack as a “war crime” and called for Russia to be held accountable.
Ukrainian F-16 pilot ‘killed by friendly fire’
A Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed by friendly fire, an MP has claimed.
The commander of Ukraine’s air force criticised the comments, made by Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuhla, and US experts have joined the investigation to try and find out what happened.
Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Mes was killed while defending Ukraine’s skies from a huge Russian aerial attack at the start of the week.
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Ms Bezuhla claimed his jet was shot down by a US-supplied Patriot missile.
In response, air force commander Mykola Oleschuk said her words were a “tool to discredit the top military leadership”.
But, the air force did not directly deny that the F-16 was hit by a Patriot missile.