Update: Death toll of Russia's May 31 attack on Kharkiv rises to 9
The death toll of a Russian missile attack against Kharkiv's Novobavarskyi district overnight on May 31 has again risen, with nine people reported as being killed, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on June 1.
After an update earlier in the day in which Syniehubov said that seven had been killed, the death toll was again revised after two more bodies were found.
The number of people killed in the strike included four men and three women. Search operations are ongoing, as two more women may be trapped under the rubble, Syniehubov said. It is unclear if the two bodies that were found were the two women that Syniehubov referred to earlier.
Russian missiles struck three locations in the city overnight on May 31 – a five-story residential building, a sewing workshop, and a local shop.
The governor said shortly after the attack that a subsequent strike on the same location within the city was a 'double-tap' attack - wherein Russian forces wait for first responders and law enforcement to arrive before hitting the same place again to inflict greater damage.
At least one emergency medical worker was injured as a result of the attack.
Russia recently intensified attacks against Kharkiv, which had a population of 1.4 million in 2021, with the use of missiles, glide bombs, and drones, destroying energy infrastructure and killing civilians.
Dmytro Basmat
