Russia strikes apartment block in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, three killed, 22 injured By Reuters

(Reuters) -Russia hit a high-rise apartment block in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv during an attack with guided bombs on Tuesday, killing at least three people and injuring 22 more, with others feared trapped under rubble, local authorities said.

“Russia is terrorizing the Kharkiv region with impunity… A direct strike on a residential building,” Ukraine’s ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on the Telegram messenger app.

Images from the site showed a hole blown through the building.

Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that the building had already been attacked by Russia at the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“It was almost repaired, windows were installed, it was insulated, and prepared for heating season. The enemy hit it second time,” Terekhov said.

Russia attacked at least four districts in the afternoon, Terekhov said, including the most densely populated area of the city.

The regional governor Oleh Syniehubov added on Telegram that several apartment blocks had sustained damage.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, and the surrounding region regularly come under Russian attacks. Moscow’s troops extensively use highly destructive guided bombs that Ukrainian air defences struggle to intercept.

Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians although it has killed thousands of them during more than 2/1-2 years of war.