A Russian “Shahed” drone struck a residential area in the Osnovyanskyi district of Kharkiv early Sunday morning, Aug. 23, injuring at least eight people and sparking fires in private homes, local authorities reported.
Kharkiv Regional State Administration Head Oleh Syniehubov stated that the drone strike injured four women (aged 74, 39, 28, and 23) and three men (aged 38, 38, and 28). A 15-year-old boy also suffered an acute stress reaction. Syniehubov noted that all victims received the necessary medical assistance.
The impact caused fires to break out across two private houses and an outbuilding. Emergency services and the State Emergency Service (SES) were dispatched to the scene and quickly extinguished the flames.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov confirmed the incident, stating that the attack involved a jet-powered “Shahed” drone and that the full extent of the consequences is still being assessed.
Later, State Emergency Service confirmed that eight people were injured as a result of the Russian attack.
Previous strikes in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia regions
The attack on Kharkiv follows a series of deadly strikes across other Ukrainian regions the previous day.
On the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 22, a Russian ballistic missile strike in the Boryspil district of the Kyiv region killed two people and injured five others. Kyiv Regional State Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko reported that the strike damaged a warehouse, a car parking lot, multiple vehicles, a private household, and a gas station.
In a separate series of attacks on Saturday, Russian forces launched seven strikes on the Zaporizhzhia district.
Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Head Ivan Fedorov reported that the strikes killed three people and injured 15 others, including a child, while also causing damage to several private houses in the area.