Kyiv: A Russian guided bomb struck a high-rise residential building and a playground on Friday in Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv, killing seven people and injuring at least 77 others, according to local authorities. A 14-year-old girl was among the dead, said Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the two-and-a-half-year war continues to result in more death and destruction with no end in sight.
According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, the 12-storey apartment block caught on fire as a result of the strike on the playground and the death toll rose to seven when a woman's body was recovered from the rubble. About 20 of the injured were in severe condition, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Emergency services and rescue volunteers rushed to carry survivors out of the building. The body of one of the victims lay under a carpet on the ground outside, surrounded by police. Residents of all ages, some of them covered in blood, sat stunned on benches and walls outside as medics attended to their injuries.
'Glide bombs' used in attack
Kharkiv has been the focus of heavy Russian bombing throughout the war, although there had been a drop in intensity in recent weeks, possibly related to a shock incursion launched by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region, where Kyiv says it has made significant gains. Ukraine accused Russia of using five "glide bombs" on Friday, fitted with a navigation system. The weapons are hard to intercept and they have become a fearsome tool in the war in eastern Ukraine.
In the wake of the Kharkiv strike, Zelenskyy renewed a call on Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to attack Russian military air bases. "A strike ... would not have happened if our defence forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based," Zelenskyy said on Telegram. "There is no rational reason to restrict Ukraine's defences."
India's position on Russia-Ukraine war
On Friday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said India supports any feasible and mutually acceptable solution or format that could restore peace. Speaking on PM Modi's visit to Ukraine, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We will be guided by the bilateral discussion that we had with them, including the high-level visit that just concluded, which we believe will pave the way for stronger bilateral ties apart from facilitating more forward-looking discussions on the possibility of peaceful resolution of the conflict."
He said India has "always advocated constructive, solution-oriented, and practical engagement with all stakeholders to achieve a negotiated settlement to this conflict" and that PM Modi has already indicated India's "willingness to play a constructive role in the interest of peace."
Russia's recent attacks on Ukraine
Caught off-guard by Ukraine's sudden incursion in Kursk, Russia has ruled out any peace talks as it moves towards Donetsk and Kharkiv. In its third attack in four days, Russia conducted a heavy aerial attack on Thursday, firing five missiles and 74 Shahed drones at Ukrainian targets, an air force statement said. Air defences stopped two missiles and 60 drones, and 14 other drones presumably fell before reaching their target, it said. It caused minor damage to civilian infrastructure but no injuries.
This followed Russia's back-to-back attacks on Ukraine, when it launched more than 200 missiles and drones at Kyiv on Monday, the same day when a US-based F-16 fighter jet crashed, killing a top Ukrainian pilot. This was followed by an attack involving 81 missiles and drones, killing several people.
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