25 May 2024 Kharkiv missile strikes explained

Date:25 May 2024
Fatalities:19[1]
Location:Kharkiv, Ukraine
Injuries:[2] [3] [4]
Type:Missile and guided bomb strike
Partof:Russian strikes on Kharkiv and 2024 Kharkiv offensive

Air strikes on Kharkiv were carried out by the Russian Armed Forces in four locations on 25 May 2024. At least one UMPB D-30SN bomb was dropped at an Epicentr K hypermarket, destroying it.[5] Russian forces dropped another bomb on the central park of culture and recreation, but it did not detonate.[6] [7] In the evening, Russian forces hit a street in a dense residential area of the city.[8] At least two of the victims killed in the airstrike were Epicentr store employees.

According to the Kharkiv Oblast Governor, 19 people were killed as a result of the attacks[1] and at least 65 were injured.[9] [10]

Background

The strikes happened amid an ongoing limited Russian offensive in Kharkiv Oblast which started on 10 May. The city of Kharkiv has faced frequent attacks since months prior and its energy infrastructure has already been severely damaged. Ukraine has also increased shelling of the Belgorod region.[11]

On 19 May, 6 people were killed in a Russian strike on the outskirts of Kharkiv, according to the Regional Prosecutor's Office. The same day, three Ukrainian drones were shot down over Belgorod region, burning a church roof, according to local officials.[12] On 23 May, Russian forces fired 15 missiles at Kharkiv, resulting in the death of 7 people[13] and wounding 20.[14] [15]

Russian forces have previously struck at six other Epicentr shopping centers in Bucha, Nikopol, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv.[16]

Attack

Lyceum and cars strike

At 00:35 and 00:47 on 25 May, Russian troops fired S-300 missiles at the Slobodsky district of Kharkiv and destroyed part of a lyceum, and also damaged 31 cars.[17]

Shopping center strike

At approximately 16:00, Russian forces struck the Kyivskyi District of Kharkiv with at least one UMPB D30-SN aerial bomb, allegedly from the Belgorod oblast of Russia. The strike was conducted on an Epicentr construction hypermarket and resulted in three large explosions. The market was estimated to have contained about 120 people at the time of the missile strikes.[18] Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that the missile strikes caused a fire covering 13,000 square metres that took 16 hours to fully put out. According to the Kharkiv Oblast Governor, the attack on the hypermarket killed 19 and injured at least 54 people, three of which were injured seriously.[1] [9] [8] At least two of the victims killed in the airstrike were Epicentr store employees.

Russian state media cited a security source as saying, that a "military warehouse and command post" were set up in the shopping center and claimed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were using "human shield tactics".[19]

Failed strike on Central park

At 17:00, Russian forces dropped another bomb on the central park of culture and recreation, and hit the area near the sports ground,[20] but the bomb did not explode and caused no casualties.[21] Ukrainian rescuers then cleared the sports ground.

Residential development strike

At 19:00, Russian forces hit a dense residential area in the center of the city with an S-300 missile, striking the pavement next to a residential complex housing a cafe, post office, and beauty salon and wounding 18 people (including a 14-year-old teenager).

Reactions

In response to the attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the attacks were "yet another example of Russian madness".[5] Zelenskyy also called for increased air defenses to keep Kharkiv and other cities in the country safe.

French President Emmanuel Macron on social media platform X wrote that the strike on the superstore was "unacceptable."[22]

Senior United Nations official Denise Brown described the attack on the shopping center as ″utterly unacceptable″, adding that attacks by Russian forces hitting civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop.[23]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: 19 killed, 54 injured as rescue operations after Kharkiv hypermarket attack end . 29 May 2024 . The Kyiv Independent . Kateryna Denisova . 29 May 2024 . en.
  2. Web site: Президент Украины Владимир Зеленский приехал в Харьков и записал обращение на фоне разрушенной российским ударом типографии . 2024-05-26 . 2024-05-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240526130543/https://meduza.io/news/2024/05/26/prezident-ukrainy-vladimir-zelenskiy-priehal-v-harkov . live .
  3. Web site: В Харькове растет число жертв удара по гипермаркету . dw.com.
  4. Web site: Количество пострадавших в результате удара по центру Харькова возросло до 20 | УНН. 25 May 2024. unn.ua.
  5. Web site: The Guardian. 25 May 2024. 26 May 2024. Ukraine war: Russian strikes on Kharkiv DIY store kill six and injure 40.
  6. Web site: Российские военные нанесли удар по Харькову, сообщается о двух погибших и 35 раненых. Медиазона.
  7. Web site: Войска РФ сбросили две авиабомбы на Харьков. Под удар попал строительный гипермаркет. Есть погибшие и раненые. Meduza.
  8. News: 2024-05-26 . Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskiy calls for more air defences after deadly strike on Kharkiv store . 2024-05-28 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  9. Web site: Russia Bombs Hardware Superstore in Kharkiv, Killing 12, Ukraine Says. The New York Times. 25 May 2024. 26 May 2024. Méheut. Constant.
  10. News: Более 10 погибших при обстреле гипермаркета в Харькове. Радио Свобода . 26 May 2024. www.svoboda.org.
  11. Web site: Attacks kill four in Ukraine's Kharkiv, three in Russia's Belgorod . Al Jazeera . 25 May 2024 . 4 June 2024 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240604083417/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/25/russian-air-raids-kill-two-wound-dozens-in-ukraines-kharkiv . 4 June 2024.
  12. Web site: At least 11 people killed as Russian attacks intensify in northeastern Ukraine . euronews . AP . 19 May 2024 . 4 June 2024 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240531095920/https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/05/19/at-least-11-people-killed-as-russian-attacks-intensify-in-northeastern-ukraine . 31 May 2024.
  13. Web site: Россия нанесла удар по Харькову 15 ракетами. Погибли семь человек, загорелась крупная типография. 23 May 2024. BBC News Русская служба.
  14. Web site: В Харькове ищут тела погибших под завалами типографии, разрушенной российской ракетой. В Запорожье на Аллее Героев появились еще 13 имен Восемьсот двадцатый день войны. Фотографии. Meduza.
  15. Web site: В Харьковской типографии в результате российского ракетного удара сгорели 50 тысяч книг. The Insider.
  16. Web site: Удар по гипермаркету в Харькове произошел во время эвакуации, 11 работников не выходят на связь — "Эпицентр". 25 May 2024. hromadske.ua.
  17. Web site: В Харькове под обстрел попал строительный гипермаркет, есть погибшие . 25 May 2024 . 2024-05-25 . 2024-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525205649/https://www.golosameriki.com/a/kharkiv-hypermarket-bombing/7626883.html . live .
  18. News: Evans . Holly . 2024-05-27 . Russian strike on Kharkiv shopping centre kills 14 as Zelensky calls for Western support . 2024-05-28 . The Independent . en.
  19. Web site: Россия нанесла авиаудар по строительному гипермаркету в Харькове, когда там находились более 200 человек. Есть погибшие, много раненых и пропавших без вести . 2024-05-28 . Meduza . ru.
  20. Web site: Россия нанесла авиаудар по строительному гипермаркету в Харькове, когда там находились более 200 человек. Есть погибшие, много раненых и пропавших без вести . 2024-05-25 . 2024-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525163529/https://meduza.io/feature/2024/05/25/rossiya-nanesla-aviaudar-po-stroitelnomu-gipermarketu-v-harkove-kogda-tam-nahodilis-bolee-200-chelovek-est-pogibshie-mnogo-ranenyh-i-propavshih-bez-vesti . live .
  21. Web site: После удара по "Эпицентру" в Харькове пропавшими без вести считают 17 человек, - полиция. РБК-Украина.
  22. Web site: Russian attacks on Kharkiv kill six, injure dozens. Reuters. 25 May 2024. 26 May 2024. Hunder. Max. Hnidyi. Vitalii.
  23. Web site: Russian attack on Kharkiv shopping centre ‘utterly unacceptable’, says senior UN official . UN News . 25 May 2024 . 28 May 2024.

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