Russian Missile Strikes Continue to Devastate Kharkiv: Civilians Killed and Infrastructure Damaged
A wave of Russian missile strikes on Thursday pummeled several locations in Kharkiv, including a printing house in the regional capital, killing seven people as the Kremlin's forces advance.
Russian troops have exploited a weakened front line in Ukraine and have been advancing towards Kharkiv for the past two weeks. Parts of the region had been captured by Russian forces earlier in the war before being liberated.
The seven deceased individuals, at least five of whom were women, were civilians working for the FactorDruk printing company in Kharkiv, according to the regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. Sixteen people were injured at the printing house located south of the city center, and another seven were injured elsewhere.
Following the attack, images surfaced of the factory being partly reduced to rubble with its facade blown off. FactorDruk, which publishes around a third of the nation's books and 10 newspapers, is now facing significant damage.
In addition to the attack on the printing house, the Ukrainian state railway network was also targeted in the early morning. Six employees were wounded in this assault. Civilians in the region find themselves trapped by the escalating violence, with reports of Russian forces targeting individuals desperately fleeing, including a woman being pushed in a wheelchair by her husband.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the brutal Russian attack on Kharkiv and the town of Lyubotyn, emphasizing the vulnerabilities in Kyiv's air defense systems against Moscow's onslaught.
The United States recently approved a $400 million package of air defense munitions and other weapons for Ukraine. However, senior Ukrainian officials have expressed concerns that this aid may not be sufficient to push back against further Russian advances.
CNN journalists on the ground in Lyptsi, near Kharkiv, witnessed Ukrainian troops using dated and insufficient weaponry to defend against well-equipped Russian units supported by drones.
Zelensky highlighted his frustration with restrictions imposed by Western allies, including the US, on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine. He argued that these weapons are crucial for defensive purposes and should not be limited in their deployment.
The White House reiterated its stance that US-supplied weapons should not be used for offensive operations inside Russian territory, maintaining its policy against encouraging or enabling attacks in this manner.
The situation continues to unfold with devastating consequences for civilians and critical infrastructure in Kharkiv, highlighting the urgent need for international intervention to protect the people of Ukraine.
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