A teenage girl was among those killed as a Russian missile hit a playground and residential building in Kharkiv
Desperate residents were seen in footage screaming for help from upper floors of the burning 12-storey apartment block. Rescuers could not immediately reach them as their cries continued. Six people were killed in the atrocity, including a 14-year-old girl. Another 57 people were injured and the death toll is expected to rise in the coming hours.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said: “The occupiers killed a child right on the playground.” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky ’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak added: “Russians hit civilians again.” Giant flames were seen burning in the high rise. Inside, three people were dead. In the wake of the attack, Zelensky repeated calls for the West to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied long range missiles to hit Putin’s air bases inside Russia. They are believed responsible for the campaign of terror faced by his people.
Currently he is only authorised to use them to hit targets in Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine. He said: “This strike was a Russian guided aerial bomb, a blow that would not have happened if our defence forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based.
“We need strong solutions from our partners to stop this terror. This is an absolutely fair need and there is no rational reason to limit Ukraine in defence. We need long-range capabilities. We need the implementation of agreements on air defence for Ukraine. This is saving lives.”
