Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is about 30 kilometers from the Russian border and has come under attack in recent weeks as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces have made a push into the northeast region.
“This strike on Kharkiv is another manifestation of Russian madness,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Saturday. “Only madmen like Putin are capable of killing and terrorizing people in this way.”
A second strike in central Kharkiv later on Saturday injured eight people, according to Mayor Terekhov.
Zelenskyy appealed for more military help after Saturday’s attack. “When we tell the world leaders that Ukraine needs sufficient air defense protection … so that Russian terrorists cannot even get close to our borders, we are talking about literally preventing such terrorist attacks,” the president said.
Saturday’s bombing came two days after Moscow’s forces struck a printing house in Kharkiv with several missiles, killing seven workers and injuring at least 20.
Veronika Melkozerova contributed reporting.
