Russia has levelled a Ukraine high-rise apartment block killing three people and injuring 22 others.
The attack on the apartment block in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv was made using guided bombs earlier today, Tuesday, September 24. There are fears that others are trapped under rubble, local authorities said.
Ukraine’s ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets: “Russia is terrorising the Kharkiv region with impunity… A direct strike on a residential building,” reports Reuters.
Images from the site showed a hole blown through the building.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram – a messaging app – that the building had already been attacked by Russia at the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Terekhov said: “It was almost repaired, windows were installed, it was insulated, and prepared for heating season.
“The enemy hit it a second time.”
According to Terekhov, Russia attacked at least four districts in the afternoon, including the most densely populated area of the city.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, added on the messaging app that several apartment blocks had sustained damage.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and the surrounding region regularly come under Russian attacks. This is because Russian soldiers use guided bombs that Ukrainian air defences struggle to intercept.
Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians. However, it has killed thousands of them during more than two years of war with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Zelensky will demand long-range missiles in fresh talks with President Biden as he declared “We are closer to peace than we think”.
The Ukrainian leader will present his peace plan in America this week, arguing for more weapons and diplomatic efforts to end the war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Allowing Kyiv’s troops to use Storm Shadow and ATACMS missiles is a key demand for President Zelensky.
Diplomats believe President Zelensky’s plan has four key points including a mutual defence pact akin to NATO membership, support for Ukraine’s raid in Kursk, permission to use long-range missiles and financial aid for Ukraine’s shattered economy.
President Zelensky said: “I think that we are closer to peace than we think. We are closer to the end of the war.”
