Devastating Missile Strikes on Kharkiv: 47 Injured, Sports Palace and Shopping Mall Destroyed
Photo source: https://www.bbc.com
On Sunday, Russian forces launched multiple ballistic missile strikes on Kharkiv, resulting in the destruction of the city’s Sports Palace and a shopping mall. At least 47 people were injured, including seven children, according to local authorities.
Reports of missile strikes on Kharkiv began emerging shortly after 1 p.m. local time. The blasts damaged critical infrastructure throughout the city. According to Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Administration, the strikes occurred in three locations: the Sports Palace, a shopping mall in the Saltivskyi district, and near the city’s Hydropark.
Footage from the scene shows destruction across civilian areas. The regional prosecutor’s office confirmed that the missiles used were "Iskander-M" ballistic missiles and S-300/400 systems.
“The investigation found that two Iskander-M missiles struck the shopping mall in the Saltivskyi district of Kharkiv. In the Nemishlianskyi district, the Sports Palace was hit directly by three Iskander-M missiles, while three additional S-300/400 missiles targeted the surrounding area,” read an official statement from the prosecutor’s office.
The Sports Palace, one of the largest event venues in Kharkiv, had frequently hosted not only sporting events but concerts and other public gatherings.
The aftermath of the strike at the shopping mall was equally devastating. A gas pipeline was ruptured during the attack, causing plumes of fire to rise above the scene of destruction.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that the youngest of the injured was a three-month-old child, who suffered acute stress as a result of the blast. The prosecutor’s office further noted that among the injured were two medics and two emergency responders.
Eyewitness accounts describe scenes of panic and devastation. Rescue teams responded immediately, but their efforts were complicated by a second strike that followed soon after the first. “The rescue team arrived at the site, parked in front of the mall, and then there was another hit nearby. Debris damaged the vehicle, and one doctor sustained a traumatic brain injury while a paramedic suffered a fractured leg,” said Viktor Zabashta, head of the Kharkiv Emergency Medical Center, in a statement to Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne.
The attacks have prompted calls for increased international assistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again urged global leaders to provide Ukraine with all the necessary resources to defend against Russia’s strikes.
“Russia continues to terrorize Kharkiv,” Zelensky said in a social media post. “These strikes on civilian infrastructure, right in the heart of the city, show the urgent need for the international community to step up and stop this terror. It doesn't require extraordinary power, just the courage of world leaders to give Ukraine what it needs for protection.”
While the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation did not comment on the attacks, this marks the second large-scale bombardment of Kharkiv in recent days. Just on Friday, August 30, a guided bomb strike destroyed a 12-story residential building, killing six and wounding 97 others, including 22 children.
Author: Elena Fedorova
