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One person was killed and more than 100 were injured after Russia launched missile strikes using cluster munitions on a densely populated area of Kharkiv early Friday, April 18.
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Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that four Russian missile strikes had been recorded.
One of the missiles struck a high-rise building in a residential district. Terekhov said that people may be trapped under the rubble.
“According to preliminary information, the strikes on Kharkiv were carried out by ballistic missiles with cluster munitions. That’s why the impact area is so extensive,” he said.
Initially, the mayor reported that 15 apartment buildings were damaged. Later, he updated the figure to over 20 apartment blocks and more than 30 private homes affected by the shelling.
Oleh Synehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration (OVA), said apartment buildings in the city’s Osnovyanskyi district were hit. Among the wounded are two young children, aged four and nearly three.
According to Synehubov via Telegram, 51 people were injured in total. Thirteen victims were hospitalized, including two children, with four in serious condition.
A fire also broke out at a civilian facility following the attack, covering roughly 500 square meters, said Yevhen Vasylenko, spokesperson for the State Emergency Service (DSNS) in Kharkiv. Three separate fires at the site were being extinguished.
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In its latest update, the DSNS reported that the number of victims from the morning strike in Kharkiv had risen to 57, including five children. The attack targeted a residential area and a civilian enterprise. However, shortly after that, Terekhov shared an update on more than 60 injured.
“Multi-storey apartment buildings, an educational institution, and several cars were damaged. On the enterprise’s premises, the roof of a two-storey building, a workshop, and a facility spanning roughly 450 square meters caught fire,” the DSNS report read.
The fire has been contained, but extinguishing efforts continue. Emergency rescue operations are also underway.
In the Telegram post, Terekhov reported on 87 injured, including 6 children.
Later, Kharkiv’s Mayor announced that 98 civilians had been wounded in the attack.
“The consequences of the morning shelling are terrible. One man died in his own apartment. Ninety-eight people were injured, four of them are in serious condition in hospital. Six children are among the wounded,” he wrote on Telegram, posting а photo of the aftermath.
He said the area affected by the strike covers “square kilometers.” At the first impact site, all windows were shattered. Damage was reported to 21 apartment buildings, two schools, two kindergartens, and a children’s creativity center.
“In many apartments - just ruins,” Terekhov wrote.
At the second impact site, a factory shop caught fire. Debris and the blast wave also hit more than 40 private houses.
The total number of shattered windows exceeds 5,000.
“Damage assessments are ongoing - we are finding new destruction every hour. Utilities are functioning,” the mayor added.
He emphasized the scale of the destruction, blaming the use of cluster munitions.
“Cluster munitions are always a disaster. They do not choose who to hit. And the scale of this tragedy could have been ten times worse if the enemy had struck just one hour later,” he said.
The number of victims from shelling has risen to 103, including eight children, Terekhov reported in a Telegram post at 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, explosions were also reported in Dnipro around the same time. Serhiy Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA, said a missile strike damaged a fitness center, a hotel, and an office. No casualties were reported in that city.
President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the attack, writing on Telegram: “This is how Russia began this Good Friday - with ballistic and cruise missiles, with ‘Shaheeds’ - mockery of our people and our cities.”
He said the youngest injured in Kharkiv is a two-year-old girl named Valeria.
“All the wounded received necessary medical assistance. Unfortunately, one person died,” Zelensky added.
The president also commented on a separate drone strike on Sumy.
“One of the targets was a regular bread factory - a local enterprise that has served the city for decades. Unfortunately, one person was killed in that strike. My condolences to all who lost loved ones.”
He added that Russia had also carried out strikes on the Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Donetsk regions.
“Thanks to all our partners who help defend Ukraine. Every defense package matters - all air defense systems, every missile for air defense - all of it truly helps,” Zelensky wrote.
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