MAY 26, 2024
At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured after a Russian strike hit a large hardware store in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, according to officials.
Among the dead is a 12-year-old girl, police said Sunday. The attack came as Russian forces continue to advance in northeastern Ukraine after crossing the border earlier this month and opening a new front in the two-year-old conflict.
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Officials have said there were nearly 200 people inside the building when the strike occurred.
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Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, noted that there is “not a single military object nearby” the site of the strike.
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“Russia continues its savage attacks on Kharkiv this week, striking a busy shopping center, a book publishing house and other civilian targets,” US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said Saturday. “We condemn these attacks and commit to holding Russia accountable for its unprovoked war,” she added.
After Saturday’s attack, Zelensky reiterated that “if Ukraine had enough air defense systems and modern combat aircraft, such Russian strikes would have been impossible.”
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