KHARKIV, UKRAINE – At least four people were killed and over 60 injured as Russian forces unleashed one of the most powerful assaults on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv since the war began, local officials said Saturday. The wave of attacks coincided with confusion over a proposed prisoner exchange deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The overnight offensive involved 215 missiles and drones, with Ukrainian air defenses intercepting 87 drones and seven missiles, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov described the pre-dawn barrage of Iranian-made drones, missiles, and guided bombs as “the most powerful” attack the city has experienced since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Later in the evening, Russian aerial bombs struck the city center, killing another person and injuring five, bringing the total death toll to at least four. Victims included children and even a baby, officials said.
Kharkiv resident Alina Belous recounted trying to save a young girl trapped in a burning building. “We were trying to put it out ourselves with our buckets, together with our neighbours… When the ceiling started falling off, they took us out,” she told the Associated Press.
The city was still recovering from a missile strike on Thursday that wounded 18 people, including four children.
Wider Attacks and Rising Toll
Elsewhere, a Russian strike on Kherson killed a couple and damaged residential areas, while in Dnipro, two women were injured. Friday’s bombardments across Ukraine claimed at least seven lives, with dozens more wounded. Russian officials claimed the attacks were retaliation for “terrorist acts” by Ukraine, asserting military targets were the focus.
As civilian casualties rise, talks over a potential prisoner exchange remain uncertain, with no clear consensus between Moscow and Kyiv.