‘Possessed Maniacs With Their Shaheds’ – Four More Killed in Kharkiv

This news story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Renewed Russian air strikes early Wednesday morning on the Kharkiv region using bombs, missiles, and Shahed-type drones, killed two civilians and wounded 28 more, including three children, the capital city’s mayor said.

“Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs (drones) were carried out in two districts of the city tonight,” Ihor Terekhov announced in the early morning hours on social media. “There is information about two dead already,” he said.

The mayor added that “there may be people trapped under the rubble” as more than 15 apartments were on fire in a five-story building in Slobidskyi district, and several houses were hit in Osnovyansky district.

The head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration (OVA), Oleh Synehubov, reported in his latest updates on Telegram that the number of injured in the recent Russian drone attack has risen to 57 people, including seven children.

According to Synehubov, the UAVs struck residential high-rise buildings, private homes, and public transport. Several cars were also damaged by the blast wave and debris.

Fires broke out in the city’s Slobidskyi and Osnovianskyi districts.

“State Emergency Service (DSNS) personnel are working to eliminate the aftermath of the strikes. Medical teams and psychologists are providing professional assistance to the victims,” Synehubov wrote.

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Later, he reported that the death toll from the overnight attack on Kharkiv has risen.

“A 65-year-old man who was hospitalized in extremely critical condition with deep, extensive burns has just died in the burn intensive care unit,” Synehubov wrote on Telegram.

Earlier, the deaths of a 66-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman had been reported.

According to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the number of injured has also increased to 60 people, including nine children. The victims sustained injuries of varying severity, and some are suffering from acute stress reactions.

The prosecutor’s office said that between 00:30 and 00:40, Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on Kharkiv. Two city districts - Slobidsky and Osnovyansky - came under fire.

Preliminary information indicates that Russian troops used at least 17 Geran-2 (Shahed-type) drones. The strikes hit residential buildings, private homes, and industrial facilities, sparking fires. Shops, kiosks, cars, trolleybuses, and other civilian infrastructure were also damaged.

Later, Synehubov confirmed the fourth victim.

“A 59-year-old woman who had been hospitalized in serious condition has died. Her husband also passed away in the hospital this morning. Doctors fought for their lives until the very last moment,” he wrote on Telegram.

Law enforcement has launched pre-trial investigations into potential war crimes under Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to the Russian attack on Kharkiv, writing on Telegram that rescue operations are currently underway in the city.

“The strike hit ordinary residential buildings. As of now, 64 people are known to have been injured, including nine children. Unfortunately, three people have died. My condolences to their families and loved ones,” the president wrote.

He added that numerous fires broke out in the city, but rescuers from the DSNS responded quickly.

“Every new day brings another vile Russian strike, and almost every strike is a deliberate demonstration. Russia deserves greater pressure. With every hit on civilian life, it proves that the existing pressure is not enough,” Zelensky wrote.

He emphasized that the world must not be afraid or delay decisions that would further complicate Russia’s position.

“Without this, they will not engage in real diplomacy. And this depends primarily on the United States and other world leaders. Everyone who has called for an end to the killings and for diplomacy must act,” the president added.

Russian forces also carried out another attack on the Odesa region.

The DSNS reported on Telegram that the strikes destroyed and damaged summer homes, outbuildings, vehicles, and civilian watercraft.

“Fires broke out in the affected areas, but they were quickly extinguished by rescuers,” the message said. 

No casualties were reported in this attack.

According to a report from Ukraine’s Air Force, between 10 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, and the morning of Wednesday, June 11, Russian forces launched 85 Shahed attack drones and various types of decoy drones from multiple directions.

“The main targets of the airstrike were the Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Odesa regions,” the report said.

The attack was countered by Ukraine’s aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare teams, unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups from the Defense Forces.

“As of 8:00 a.m., air defenses successfully neutralized 49 enemy Shahed drones (including other types of UAVs) across the east, south, north, and center of the country. Of these, 40 were shot down by fire, and nine were disabled by electronic warfare,” the report added.

Despite the defenses, hits were recorded in 14 locations, with drone debris falling in two additional areas.

In his evening address before the attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky had mourned the recent victims of Russia’s recent attacks on Odesa and Kyiv.

“For months now, Russia has been steadily increasing the number of means of destruction used in its attacks. This is a consistent trend,” he said. “It means that Moscow fears no one in the world. No one among those who have called for an end to the killings and for meaningful negotiations on ending the war. Putin wants to continue killing and exploits the lack of a strong response. They don’t listen to Washington. And that says a lot to the world, to everyone.”

“Possessed maniacs with their ‘Shaheds’ and the red button. Catastrophe is the very purpose of their existence. They produce nothing else, and will leave nothing behind. This must be addressed. They must be stopped,” the president said.

Regional authorities in Kharkiv had previously ordered a mandatory evacuation from seven towns in the Kupiansk district due to intensified Russian attacks in the region, said Oleh Syniehubov, the head of Kharkiv’s regional military administration.

“In connection with the intensified enemy attacks on the Kupiansk district, we have decided to evacuate the population from seven settlements of the Shevchenkove [group of villages]. These are the villages of Baranivka, Berezivka, Novomykolaivka, Spodobivka, Starovirivka, Duvanka and Fedorivka,” he said.

Over the weekend, Moscow’s forces shelled the Kharkiv area with bombs, missiles and drones, killing three civilians: a 59-year-old woman, an 86-year-old woman, and a 32-year-old man – and injuring 22 others.

Later, Moscow’s forces struck a children’s railway in Kharkiv with FAB-500 bombs, killing a 30-year-old woman and injuring 18 people. A 63-year-old man later died in hospital from his injuries. In a nearby village, a guided aerial bomb strike killed a 73-year-old man and injured a 46-year-old resident.

Over the past two months, the regional official noted, two people already had been killed in the region and five injured, including a 16-year-old boy, as a result of Russian attacks with guided aerial bombs, multiple-launch rocket systems and drones.