Ukraine: Russia Deadly Strikes Hit Kharkiv Apartment Block

Russia launched overnight drone and missile strikes across Ukraine, killing and injuring several people. In Kharkiv, a missile hit a residential building, killing at least 10 people, including two children. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired 29 missiles and about 480 drones during the attack.

Russia launched a series of overnight drone and missile attacks across Ukraine, leaving several people dead and many others injured as explosions struck multiple regions of the country.
One of the deadliest attacks occurred in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, where a ballistic missile struck a five-storey residential building. The explosion killed at least 10 people, including two children, and left 16 others injured. Emergency responders rushed to the scene and began searching through the wreckage for survivors, while fears remained that several people could still be trapped beneath the debris.
Rescue teams continued their work through the rubble on Saturday, carefully clearing debris in hopes of finding survivors. Local authorities said the strike caused extensive damage to the residential structure and nearby buildings, complicating rescue efforts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the overnight attack involved a large barrage of weapons. According to him, Russia launched 29 missiles — nearly half of them ballistic — along with about 480 drones. Most of the drones were identified as Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which have been widely used by Russia in attacks on Ukrainian territory.
Zelenskyy condemned the strikes and called on Ukraine’s international partners to respond strongly. Writing on social media platform X, he said the attacks were “savage strikes against life” and warned that Russia continues attempts to destroy Ukraine’s residential areas and critical infrastructure. He stressed that international support for Ukraine must continue in order to counter such attacks.
Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov said some of the injured included children. Among those wounded were two boys aged six and 11, as well as a 17-year-old girl. Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov confirmed that two children were also among those killed in the strike.
Authorities said the attacks in Kharkiv caused widespread destruction beyond the residential building that was hit directly. At least seven apartment blocks suffered damage, while commercial and administrative buildings were also affected. Electricity distribution lines were damaged, and several vehicles were destroyed by the blasts.
Zelenskyy added that the strikes were not limited to Kharkiv. Russian forces also targeted energy infrastructure in the capital Kyiv, as well as in the Khmelnytskyi and Chernivtsi regions. Railway infrastructure was also struck in the Zhytomyr region, affecting transport operations.
During the night, air raid sirens sounded across much of Ukraine as authorities warned residents to seek shelter. The attacks also prompted neighboring Poland to scramble military aircraft to safeguard its airspace in regions close to the Ukrainian border as a precautionary measure.
Preliminary reports indicated that Ukrainian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 19 missiles and 453 drones during the attack. Despite those interceptions, several weapons managed to hit their targets, causing damage across multiple regions.
Zelenskyy said that destruction was recorded in the regions of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy and Cherkasy. Emergency services and repair crews were deployed to the affected areas to assist victims and restore damaged infrastructure.
In the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, authorities reported that one person was killed. In Kyiv, three people were wounded as a result of the attacks, according to local officials.
In the Sumy region, a 24-year-old man was killed when a Russian drone struck his car. Additional injuries were reported in separate drone strikes in Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine and in the city of Chuhuiv in the Kharkiv region.
The attacks also damaged parts of Ukraine’s railway network. Ukraine’s state rail operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said several train routes in the central-western part of the country had to be changed due to damage to rail infrastructure.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine remain stalled. Peace negotiations have slowed further amid rising tensions in the Middle East following joint military strikes carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran about a week ago, which have shifted international attention toward the growing conflict in that region.