On August 30, Kharkiv came under Russian attack again. A Russian guided aerial bomb hit a residential building and a playground, killing seven people and injuring at least 80, including 22 children, among them a ten-month-old baby, local authorities said.
A 12-story residential building caught fire as a result of the strike. Among the dead are a 14-year-old girl who was killed near a playground, and an 18-year-old Ukrainian artist Veronika Kozhushko, who is known for her work on the war and the Executed Renaissance.
Veronika, a Ukrainian artist, was a passionate supporter of Ukrainian poets, many of whom were killed by Russia for their efforts to develop Ukrainian culture. On August 30, Russia also took Veronika’s life in an attack on Kharkiv. She was only 18. Unpunished evil always returns, – the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote.
The Russian army launched a total of five UMPB D-30 bombs from the Belgorod region at the city.
In addition, during the evening shelling on August 31, the enemy used such atypical weapons as the Grom-E1, a hybrid of a missile and a guided aerial bomb, for the first time during the war.
Also on September 1, Russia launched new strikes on Kharkiv, firing at least 10 missiles. The attack injured 47 people, including seven children. The youngest victim was three months old and had an acute stress reaction. The Russians hit the Kharkiv Sports Palace and a shopping center. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, and the number of victims may increase.
The Russians preliminarily hit the city with Iskander-M missiles, the Prosecutor General’s Office said. Their speed during the attack was 6,000 km/h. According to the National Police, the Russians fired eight missiles at Kharkiv, three of them Iskander-M. There were also at least as many hits from S-300 missiles.
On the evening of September 1, Russian troops launched a missile attack on a center for social and psychological rehabilitation of children and an orphanage in Sumy. Thirteen people were injured, four of them children, the National Police of Sumy region reported. The educational institution and at least five high-rise buildings were damaged.
On Monday night, September 2, Russia also launched a massive missile attack on Kyiv. Air defenses within the capital destroyed more than a dozen cruise missiles and about a dozen ballistic missiles, as well as an attack drone. Preliminary, these are X-101 and KN-24/Iskander-M missiles.
The debris fell in four districts. In some areas where the debris fell, cars were on fire and non-residential buildings were damaged. Three people were reported injured, two of whom were hospitalized.
Reactions of foreign and Ukrainian politicians
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the attacks by calling on Western allies to provide Ukraine with the means to destroy Russian military aircraft at their bases. He said:
A blow that would not have happened if our Defense Forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based. We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror. This is an absolutely fair need. And there is no rational reason to limit Ukraine’s defense.
The horrific attack caused an international outcry. US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink expressed her condolences and called for Russia to be held accountable for these war crimes.
This afternoon, Russia struck an apartment building in Kharkiv with a guided aerial bomb, killing several and injuring many, including children. Our thoughts are with the people of Kharkiv as rescue operations are underway. Russia must be held accountable for these war crimes, – she wrote in X.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles noted that due to such attacks on civilian targets, Ukraine has again asked for the lifting of restrictions on the use of Western weapons for self-defence during informal meetings of EU ministers.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has previously expressed concern that Russian bombers are better protected than civilians.
We cannot allow Russian bombers to be better protected than Ukrainian civilians. Let’s ask ourselves if we are being honest about how much we really support Ukraine, – he wrote in X.
Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans also reacted to the massive missile attacks on Ukraine:
For Ukraine, it’s another week that starts with massive air strikes. So for me, this is another week that begins with additional motivation to support Ukraine. This week we are discussing with more than 50 countries what additional support Ukraine needs to defend itself and Europe, – he said in X.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also commented on the recent rocket attacks on Ukraine:
The main problem is that the global World is used to the war in Ukraine, and the launched of a large number of Russian missiles on Kharkiv and Kyiv does not cause a reaction in the Western political information space. To feel what tens of millions of Ukrainians feel, it is enough to come to our long-suffering country, – said Volodymyr Savchenko, the head of The Ukrainian Review.
The presidents of the world’s leading countries (Biden, Scholz. Macron) and the heads of international organizations (Ursula von der Leyen) have not commented attack on Kharkiv and Kyiv. Moreover, most politicians wrote today about the situation in Gaza.
Kateryna Yashchuk
