A residential building in Kharkiv after Saturday's attack. Photo: Oleh Synyehubov on Telegram
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a Russian missile strike on the city of Kharkiv that killed three people and injured another 38 on Saturday and warned that “Russian terror” was not “losing its momentum.”
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said that Russian aerial bombs had hit civilian infrastructure including a multi-storey residential building and shops. In addition to the three fatalities, four people were in serious condition, Syniehubov added.
Zelensky called on Ukraine’s partners to make “strong decisions” following weeks of uncertainty over the conditions for Kyiv’s use of US-supplied weapons. He stressed that Ukraine had already proven that it was “possible to protect people from missile terrorism by clearing border areas of terrorist launchers”, but hinted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were being hindered in their ability to respond to Russian airstrikes.
The Biden administration has limited Ukraine to attacking Russian military targets within 100 kilometres of the border, according to a story published by The Washington Post on Friday. The Post’s sources explained that this restriction would prevent the Armed Forces of Ukraine from launching attacks on key airfields from which Russian bombers take off.
“Aerial bombs can be stopped and must be stopped,” Zelensky wrote on Saturday. “We have enough determination to destroy terrorists on their territory.… And we need the same determination from our partners.”
