Russian attacks in Kharkiv kill six and injure dozens

At least two of the dead were store employees. Forty people were injured, with at least three in serious condition. Sixteen people were still unaccounted for, Syniehubov said.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said about 120 people had been in the hardware store when the bombs struck.

"The attack targeted the shopping centre, where there were many people - this is clearly terrorism," Terekhov said.

The past week has seen an uptick in strikes on the city after Russian troops stormed across the border, opening a new front north of the city.

Russia has bombarded Kharkiv, which lies about 30km from its border, throughout the war, having reached its outskirts in a failed bid to capture it in 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a plea to Ukraine's Western allies to help boost air defences to keep the country's cities safe. French President Emmanuel Macron, writing on social media platform X, denounced the attack on the store as "unacceptable."

Today's Russian strikes on Kharkiv are yet another example of Russian madness—there is no other way to describe it. Only insane people like Putin are capable of killing and terrorizing people in such heinous ways. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) When we tell world leaders that Ukraine requires adequate air… pic.twitter.com/54lCY0ax3rMay 25, 2024

A separate early evening missile strike hit a residential building in the centre of the city of 1.3 million, injuring 18 people, Syniehubov said.

The missile left a crater several metres deep in the pavement at the foot of the building, which also housed a post office, a beauty salon and a cafe.

Emergency workers ushered away residents of nearby apartment buildings. Some of the injured had blood on their faces.

Andriy Kudinov, director of the suburban shopping centre, told local media the hardware store was full of shoppers buying items for their summer cottages.

Huge clouds of dark smoke billowed into the sky over the shopping centre. Firefighters battled many small blazes. Within 90 minutes, most were brought under control.

Rescuers, medics and journalists rushed away from the scene of both strikes and lay on their stomachs, fearing a second strike, as has occurred during several recent Russian attacks.

Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, denounced the strike as "yet another example of Russian madness. There is no other way to describe it."

"When we tell world leaders that Ukraine needs sufficient air defences, when we say we need real decisive measures to enable us to protect our people, so that Russian terrorists cannot even approach our border, we are talking about not allowing strikes like this to happen," he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the air raid alerts had been in effect in Kharkiv for more than 12 hours. (AP PHOTO)

Writing later on Telegram, Zelenskiy noted air raid alerts had been in effect in Kharkiv for more than 12 hours and 200 emergency workers and 400 policemen remained at the scene dealing with the aftermath of the attacks.

Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, but thousands have been killed and injured during its 27-month invasion of Ukraine.

In southern Russia's Belgorod region, Ukrainian attacks killed four residents, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Gladkov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said three people were killed in the village of Oktyabrsky in a multiple rocket attack. One man died after being taken to a hospital.

In the village of Dubovoye, an attack killed a woman working in her garden.

Russia's Defence Ministry also said that air defence units had intercepted and destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the adjacent Kursk region.

Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield accounts.

Ukraine rarely comments on the frequent attacks on southern Russian regions just across its border

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that an incursion of Russian troops into Kharkiv region was aimed at creating a "buffer zone" to prevent cross-border attacks into Belgorod and other regions.

Reuters