A DIY hypermarket was hit by a strike in Kharkiv, killing at least six people and injuring 33.
But the toll could rise as the explosion took place in the middle of the afternoon, this Saturday, May 25.
Here’s what we know about this attack.
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More than two years of war in Ukraine
An explosion then panic. This Saturday, May 25, two aerial bombs crashed into a DIY hypermarket in Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv. At least six people were killed and around forty were injured, according to kyiv, which indicated that the toll could rise as the store was very busy during the attack. Back to what we know.
What happened
The strike occurred in the middle of the afternoon, this Saturday, May 25. According to regional governor Oleg Synegoubov, the attack was carried out using two guided aerial bombs. A gigantic fire then broke out in the central part of the hit hypermarket, on the verge of being brought under control early in the evening.
kyiv immediately accused Moscow, while the Russian army had been carrying out a ground offensive in the region for two weeks and strikes on Kharkiv had increased in recent days. “Russia dealt another brutal blow to our city of Kharkiv – a construction hypermarket – on Saturday, in the middle of the day”denounced President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram. “Only madmen like Putin are capable of killing and terrorizing people in such a despicable way”he added.
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At least two victims
At least six people were killed. “Unfortunately, we already know that six people were killed instantly (…) Forty people were injured, 16 are missing”, said the regional governor, Oleg Synegoubov, in a video on Telegram. The company said for its part that 11 employees of the store could not be reached, while the mayor of Kharkiv indicated that “more than 200 people” could have been present in this busy hypermarket on Saturday.
Rescuers and firefighters quickly arrived on site, but their work was complicated by the size of the building. The store is huge with 15,000 m² dedicated to the sale of DIY materials and furniture. “My colleague and I fell, we hit the ground. And then there was a second explosion, we were buried in the rubble, completely covered. We dug to try to find oxygen. There , the fire system started up, we caught a few people and an emergency doctor who was shopping saved us.said a Ukrainian present on site in the TF1 video at the top of this article.
Call for anti-aircraft defense
Following the strike, the Ukrainian president once again called on his Western allies to provide more air defense systems to his country. “If Ukraine had sufficient air defense systems and modern combat aircraft, such Russian strikes would have been impossible”he pleaded. “Every day we appeal to the world: give us air defense, save people.”
“The Russian strikes on a shopping center in Kharkiv have just caused numerous victims. Children, women, men. Families. This is unacceptable”for his part reacted Emmanuel Macron on X. “France shares the Ukrainians’ pain and remains fully mobilized alongside them.”