Update: Russian missile attack on Kharkiv kills 6 people, including 3-year-old-child, injures at least 31
Editor's Note: This is a developing story.
Russian forces on Jan. 2 launched a missile attack on a residential neighborhood in the city of Kharkiv, killing six people and injuring at least 31, including a six-month-old baby, regional authorities said.
The body of a three-year-old boy was recovered from the rubble of a destroyed apartment building after the attack, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. The body of a woman was later found, according to the governor, who added that it could be the boy's mother, who was previously reported missing.
The remains of additional victims were discovered in the days after the attack, bringing the death toll to six. Search and rescue operations remain ongoing at the site as of Jan. 4.
Sixteen of the wounded were hospitalized, including a woman in serious condition, Syniehubov said. He added that the baby did not require hospitalization.
The attack destroyed a five-story apartment and damaged other civilian infrastructure, a shopping center, and cars, according to the local authorities. The entrance to another four-story apartment building was damaged, as were contact networks, traffic signals, and power lines.
"The building was completely destroyed by the strike, and a fire broke out," Syniehubov said in his Telegram post.
More victims could be trapped under the rubble, Syniehubov said.
The preliminary information suggests that Russian forces used two missiles in the afternoon attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"Unfortunately, this is exactly how the Russians treat life and people — they continue their killings, despite all the efforts of the world, and above all the United States, in the diplomatic process," Zelensky wrote on Telegram following the attack.
"Only Russia does not want this war to end and every day does everything it can to ensure that the war continues."
The Jan. 2 attack comes a day after Russian troops struck the Feldman Eco-Park near Kharkiv with a glide bomb. Oleksandr Feldman, a Ukrainian member of parliament and founder of the eco-park, said that dozens of animals were killed and wounded.
Located just about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Russian border and the nearest front line, Kharkiv has endured regular Russian attacks, resulting in civilian casualties and considerable destruction across the city.
