By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
KHARKIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Authorities say at least three people have been killed and a further 22 injured, including a one-month-old baby, after a massive nighttime Russian attack involving drones, missiles, and guided bombs, which hit the city of Kharkiv and other targets. Amid the attacks, Moscow said Ukraine has postponed a large-scale prisoner swap and the repatriation of the bodies of dead soldiers they had agreed on during peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey.
Residents are in a state of shock after Russia bombarded Ukraine’s second-largest city with massive strikes in the early hours of Saturday.
Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said the “most powerful” attack hit his city since the Russia-Ukraine War broke out more than three years ago. “It was a horrible morning for Kharkiv, which was hit by 48 Shahed Russian attack drones, four guided bombs, and two missiles,” Mayor Terekhov said. “Civilian infrastructure and residential buildings were hit.”
One of the strikes hit a nine-story residential building, causing fire in apartments on the upper floors.
Firefighters struggle to battle the blaze, and rescue workers try to carry the wounded and others to safety.
But they could not save everyone’s lives.
Those who survived the attacks are trying to rebuild.
Aliona Lukianova picked up the pieces of her damaged apartment. She recalled that, “the first explosions were in the Kyiv district, so we waited. When the attack drones started buzzing closer and closer, and finally when the sound was right over our home, we took our dog and cats and hid behind the wall in the corridor. We sat down on the floor, and then it hit. It had hardly been 20 seconds after we hid when the explosion happened. It was around 03:37 a.m. At 3:39, I called the ambulance and took the cats to safety. That’s all I did,” she said.
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING
Multi-storey and private residential buildings, as well as educational and infrastructure facilities, were reportedly attacked.
Ukraine’s foreign minister urged more pressure on Moscow, Russia, in his words, “continues its terror against civilians.”
Authorities said several people were killed and more than 20 others injured in the latest attack involving drones, missiles, and guided bombs.
It was the latest in a series of extensive Russian attacks on Ukraine in recent days.
They came after Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that Moscow would retaliate for a massive drone operation by Kyiv last Sunday.
Ukraine said over 40 bombers, or about a third of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, were damaged or destroyed, although Moscow said only several planes were struck.
The bombers that were hit were part of Russia’s capability to enable nuclear weapons deployment by air, sea, and ground.
PEARL HARBOR?
Some Russian military commentators compared it to another infamous Sunday surprise attack — that of Japan’s strike on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor in 1941.
However, others rejected the comparison, saying the damage was far less significant than Ukraine claimed.
Yet, the bold attack demonstrated Ukraine’s capability to hit high-value targets anywhere in Russia, dealing a blow to the Kremlin and inflicting significant losses to Moscow’s war machine.
Amid the tensions, Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of postponing a large-scale prisoner swap and the repatriation of the bodies of dead soldiers they had agreed on during peace talks in Istanbul.
However, the headquarters of Ukraine’s Coordination for prisoners of war said the exchange of prisoners and bodies agreed at the last round of Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul has been moved to next week.
They had agreed to release at least 1,000 prisoners of war and to exchange the human remains of 6,000 soldiers killed in combat. It was seen as a small sign of hope in an otherwise devastating war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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