A Police bomb squad member works at the site of a Russian air strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Sofiia Gatilova/Reuters)
KHARKIV, Ukraine — A Russian airstrike on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv on Wednesday destroyed a cafe, damaged a nearby residential building and set a petrol station ablaze, and local officials said 10 people were wounded, at least one severely.
“I’ve been left with nothing,” owner Vahe Ohandzhanian told Reuters in the ruins of his cafe, which had a large chunk torn out of it by the blast, scattering corrugated iron roof panels and bricks dozens of metres away.
A 12-story high rise across the road had nearly all its windows blown out. About 55 yards away, a green bus also had all its windows blown out and its rear side covered in a vast spatter of blood that pooled in a puddle on the asphalt.
Vahe Ohandzanian, 54, holds a dog next to his cafe heavily damaged by a Russian air strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
Regional prosecutors said the bus driver had both legs amputated. Russia had used a UMPB D-30 guided bomb launched from bordering Belgorod region, prosecutors added on Telegram.
Three more people were hospitalized, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, and the surrounding region have been targeted by Russian attacks since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
Strikes have become far more intense in recent months, hitting civilian and energy infrastructure, and Russian forces have opened a new front north of the regional capital in recent weeks.
Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, but thousands have been killed and injured in its 27-months-old invasion of Ukraine.
Additional reporting Yuliia Dysa.
