Russia pummelled Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv before dawn on Saturday, launching its “most powerful attack” there since the start of the war, the mayor said, announcing one person killed.
In recent weeks, Russian troops have accelerated their advance while the latest negotiations in Istanbul failed to broker an end to the three-year war.
“Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the beginning of the full-scale war,” Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov posted on Telegram, describing a barrage of missiles, drones and guided bombs striking simultaneously.
“As of now, at least 40 explosions have been heard in the city over the past hour and a half,” he wrote at 4:40 am (0140 GMT), adding that drones were still buzzing overhead. “The threat remains.”
A strike on a residential building in Kyivsky district killed one person, the mayor said.
Kharkiv regional Governor Oleg Synegubov posted that seven people were wounded in the aerial assault.
“Medical personnel are providing the necessary assistance,” he wrote.
On Thursday, at least 18 people, including four children, were wounded in strikes on the northeastern city that set an apartment bloc on fire.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed that Moscow would respond to an audacious Ukrainian drone attack that destroyed several nuclear-capable military jets.
Ukraine has been pushing for an unconditional and immediate 30-day truce, issuing its latest proposal to Moscow at peace talks in Istanbul on Monday. But Russia has repeatedly rejected calls for such a ceasefire.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed, swaths of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed, and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded in February 2022.
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