Kyiv: On Sunday, at least 47 people, including five children, were injured in Kharkiv, Ukraine, following a Russian missile strike on a shopping mall and events complex, officials reported. The attack occurred just hours after Russia announced that Kyiv had launched one of the most significant drone offensives since the onset of the full-scale war, targeting key power plants and an oil refinery. Concurrently, Russian forces continued their advance towards a crucial town in eastern Ukraine.
The missile strike on Kharkiv prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to renew his appeal for Western allies to provide Kyiv with advanced missiles capable of reaching deeper into Russian territory. This plea aims to mitigate the military threat posed by Russia. The conflict has reached a pivotal stage, with Russia intensifying its offensive in eastern Ukraine while seeking to repel Ukrainian forces that made a surprise incursion across the western border on August 6.
Recently, Russia conducted its heaviest airstrikes of the war, targeting various Ukrainian facilities, including energy infrastructure. Moscow maintains that damaging Ukraine’s energy system is a legitimate military objective, despite the significant civilian casualties resulting from its drone and missile attacks since February 2022.
Ukraine has escalated its own strikes against Russian infrastructure, leveraging its burgeoning domestic drone industry to target Russian energy, military, and transport systems. Kyiv is also pushing for approval from the United States and other allies to deploy more powerful Western-supplied weapons to inflict greater damage within Russia and disrupt Moscow’s capacity to assault Ukraine.
In response to the Kharkiv attack, Zelenskiy stated on his Telegram channel, “All the necessary forces of the world must be brought in to stop this terror.” He added, “This does not require extraordinary forces, but enough courage on the part of the leaders – courage to give Ukraine what it needs to defend itself.” Ukrainian officials reported that the Kharkiv attack involved at least 10 missiles.
In the aftermath of the strike, rescue workers and volunteers assisted injured civilians to ambulances, as shattered glass and debris littered the area. Many sought refuge in a metro station. Russian officials earlier claimed that their air defense systems had downed 158 Ukrainian drones overnight, with debris from these drones causing fires at the Moscow Oil Refinery and Konakovo Power Station in the Tver region.
Kyiv has not yet commented on the drone barrage, and Russia seldom reveals the full impact of Ukrainian air attacks. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov indicated that Moscow might revise its nuclear doctrine in response to Western actions, though specifics were not provided. Russia’s current nuclear policy, established in 2020, allows for nuclear use if facing a nuclear attack or a conventional attack threatening the state’s survival.
In eastern Ukraine, intense fighting continues as Russian forces advance towards Pokrovsk, a strategic military hub. Despite Ukraine’s recent incursion into Russia’s Kursk region aimed at easing pressure on its eastern forces, Russian advances have persisted. Moscow’s defense ministry reported capturing two additional settlements in Donetsk region, with ongoing progress in deepening their defensive positions. Shelling in Kurakhove, south of Pokrovsk, resulted in three deaths and nine injuries, while Ukrainian forces targeted Russia’s Belgorod region, causing injuries to 11 people, including two seriously hurt children.
