A damaged residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine after it was hit by Russian air bomb killing at least three and injuring 23 on June 22.The Associated Press
Russian authorities said six people died and over 100 were wounded in Ukrainian drone and missile attacks on Sunday, while the second day of Russia’s aerial bombing of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine killed at least one person.
Among the dead were five people – including two children – who were hit by falling debris from Ukrainian missiles that were shot down over a coastal area in Sevastopol, a port city in Russia-annexed Crimea, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the city’s Moscow-installed governor. Another person died in Grayvoron city in Russia’s Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Mr. Razvozhayev said 151 people were wounded in Sevastopol. Falling rocket fragments caused a forest fire of more than 150 square metres and set a residential building alight, RIA Novosti said, noting that a fifth missile had exploded over the city.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said both Ukraine and the U.S. bore “responsibility for a deliberate missile strike on civilians.” It said that U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles were used in the Ukranian attack.
Mr. Razvozhayev declared Monday a day of mourning in Sevastopol, with public events cancelled.
Air defences overnight shot down 33 Ukrainian drones over Russia’s western Bryansk, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Tula regions, the Russian Ministry of Defence said Sunday. No casualties or damage were reported.
A fresh attack on Kharkiv killed at least one person and wounded 11 on Sunday, according to local officials. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city was attacked by a guided bomb and that around half of Kharkiv was without electricity because of the strike.
Sunday’s attacks came after Russia struck Kharkiv on Saturday afternoon with four aerial bombs, hitting a five-storey residential building and killing three people. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that 41 people were still being treated for injuries on Sunday.
In a video address following the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s partners to bolster its air defences.
“Modern air defence systems for Ukraine – such as Patriots, accelerated training of our pilots for F-16s, and most importantly, sufficient range for our weapons – are truly necessary,” he said.
Two people were wounded by falling debris when two Russian missiles were shot down over the Kyiv region overnight, Ukraine’s air force commander Mykola Oleschuk said.
Regional Governor Vadym Filashkin of Ukraine’s partly occupied Donetsk region said that Russian attacks on Saturday killed two people and wounded four.
In other developments, the Ukrainian Navy released photos Sunday that it says confirm the destruction of a warehouse in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region used to launch and store Iranian-designed Shahed drones.
Navy officials said training instructors and cadets were killed in the attack on Friday night. Moscow has not yet commented on the reports, but officials said air defences shot down a number of drones in the region overnight on Friday.