Author: Max Hende
KHARKIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Russia attacked a crowded DIY hardware store in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday, killing at least two people, injuring more than 30 people and sparking a fire, local officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a new, impassioned plea to Ukraine’s Western allies for help in beefing up air defenses to keep the country’s cities safe.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said via the Telegram messaging app that two guided bombs hit a DIY supermarket in a residential area of the city. He said two of the dead were store employees and 33 others were injured.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there were about 120 people in the hardware store when the bomb struck.
“The attack was on a shopping mall where there were a lot of people and it was clearly terrorism,” Terekhov said.
Andriy Kudinov, director of the suburban mall, told local media that the store was packed with shoppers buying items for their summer homes.
Terekhov later reported another strike in the city center, saying two people were injured.
Reuters video showed huge plumes of black smoke billowing from the scene as firefighters battled numerous small blazes. Within 90 minutes, most areas were under control.
Rescuers, medics and journalists rushed out of the building and dropped to the ground, fearing a second attack – a common feature of recent attacks in Russia.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is just 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border and has been the target of Russian attacks for years. Russian troops also invaded the northern region of Kharkiv Oblast earlier this month.
Witnesses described panic scenes at the mall.
“I was at my workplace. I heard the first crash and then… we fell to the ground with our colleagues. The second crash and we were covered in debris. Then we started crawling to higher ground , “He said. Dmytro Syrotenko, 26, suffered a large gash on his face.
Sirotenko told Reuters that a rescuer helped him, several colleagues and shoppers carry him to safety.
In a nightly video address, Zelensky denounced the strike as “another example of Russian madness. There is no other way to describe it.”
“When we tell world leaders that Ukraine needs adequate air defense systems, when we say that we need real decisive measures to protect our people so that Russian terrorists cannot even come close to our borders, we are talking about not allowing this to happen. attack,” he said.
Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, but thousands have been killed or injured in its 27-month all-out invasion of Ukraine.
