Dead and missing

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Around 200 civilians are said to have been in the DIY store.

(Bild: APA/AFP/SERGEY BOBOK)

Russia has once again attacked a civilian target in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. According to the authorities, two glide bombs hit a DIY store where more than 200 people were staying. The number of civilians killed rose to at least eleven. The Russian military claims that a weapons cache was hidden in the DIY store.

The mayor of the town, Ihor Terekhov, also spoke of 40 injured. According to the report, 16 people are also missing, so the number of victims could rise even further. According to the DIY store operator, around 200 people were in the building at the time of the attack and 15 employees were unavailable.

Huge area on fire
Images on online networks showed a huge cloud of black smoke rising from the building that was hit (see video above). According to the authorities, an area of 10,000 to 15,000 square meters was on fire.

There was a huge black cloud above the "Epicentr" DIY store.

(Bild: APA/AFP/SERGEY BOBOK)

Firefighters are battling the flames in the building.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur)

Moscow speaks of weapons cache in DIY store
Russia is claiming that the Ukrainian armed forces have hidden a weapons cache in the DIY store. "The tactic of human shields is being used in Kharkiv - they have set up a military warehouse and a command post in a shopping center, which was discovered by our secret service," the state agency Tass quoted an unnamed representative of the Russian leadership as saying. There is no evidence for these claims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated on Telegram that all emergency services were working to help people and put out fires. Russia had once again attacked the city of Kharkiv "brutally" and "in the middle of the day".

Only madmen like Putin are capable of killing people in such a heinous way.

Wolodymyr Selenskyj

Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Following the attack, Zelenskyi once again called on Ukraine's Western allies to supply his country with more air defense systems. "If Ukraine had enough air defense systems and modern fighter planes, such Russian attacks would be impossible," the president explained. "Every day we appeal to the world: give us air defense, save people."

According to Zelensky, the latest Russian attack is "another manifestation of Russian madness". "Only madmen like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin are capable of killing and terrorizing people in such a heinous way," the Ukrainian president said in his daily video address early on Saturday evening.

A Ukrainian policeman covers the body of a man killed in the attack.

(Bild: APA/AFP/SERGEY BOBOK)

"Barbaric war crimes"
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba also emphatically called for Patriot systems. More air defense and the ability to shoot down Russian military aircraft before they drop bombs are the only way to prevent "such barbaric war crimes", Kuleba wrote on Platform X. "Putin may spread lies, but here are his deeds," he explained.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the Russian attack as "unacceptable" in an X post. France "shares the pain of the Ukrainian people and remains by their side", he wrote.

Last serious attack on Thursday
Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine. It is located in the north-east of the country near the Russian border and is regularly attacked by Russia. According to the authorities, seven people were killed in Russian attacks on the city on Thursday.

On May 10, the Russian army launched a ground offensive in the region. According to the Ukrainian public prosecutor's office, Russia also shelled the village of Kupyansk-Vuslovyi, a railroad junction in the Kharkiv region near the border, on Saturday. Five people were injured. Two vehicles came under fire: a car with two occupants and an ambulance with a driver, a paramedic and a 64-year-old patient.