A local man outside his home watches as clouds rise above Kharkiv after Russian shelling, 17 May 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGE IVANCHENKO
At least five people have been killed and another 16 people have been injured in a Russian missile strike on Mala Danylivka, a suburb of Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, the region’s Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Sunday morning.
Russian troops had attacked an area where local people were enjoying their holidays, Syniehubov said, adding that one of the dead was a paramedic, and that an ambulance had also been damaged in the attack.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov confirmed that there had been two explosions in the Kharkiv suburb and called the strike “terrorism in its original form”.
“How many more lives must this ruthless enemy take before the world finally realises that this isn’t a war, it’s terror? … Every missile, every shell, every explosion is a direct violation of all international norms, a crime against humanity,” Terekhov wrote.
The attack comes just over a week since Russia launched a fresh offensive on a new front in the Kharkiv region. Since 10 May, Russian troops have managed to advance several kilometres into areas of the region along the Russian border which were previously held by Ukrainian forces.
On Tuesday night the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that its troops would withdraw from around two towns in the region to “save the lives of our soldiers and avoid losses”, adding that its troops had moved to more “advantageous” positions from which they would attempt to prevent Russian forces from gaining a foothold in the area.
