May 20 (UPI) — At least 11 civilians, including a pregnant woman, were killed and 28 injured after Russian forces shelled Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv province.
Six of the victims were killed in attacks on an outdoor leisure center on the outskirts of Kharkiv on Sunday that also injured 16 people, including an 8-year-old girl. A police officer and two paramedics were injured as they came to the aid of victims of the initial attack.
Kharkiv regional state administration head Oleh Syniehubov accused Russian forces of using two Iskander ballistic missiles to carry out what he called a “double-tap” strike in which a target is hit twice in relatively quick succession with the second strike deliberately aimed at killing and maiming emergency personnel attending the scene.
The other four fatalities were in attacks on a suburb of Kharkiv and villages in Kupiansk district about 70 miles southeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
“May 20 is a Day of Mourning in the Kharkiv region,” Syniehubov said on social media.
“As a result of the shelling of the villages of Kivsharivka, Novoosynove and the Malodanyliv community, the occupiers took the lives of 11 people. Among the dead is a pregnant woman.”
Ukraine replied by launching attacks on targets in the neighboring Russian region of Bolgorod, injuring at least 13 people.
Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said Shebekino, just over the border from Vovchansk, was hit with multiple-launch rockets that injured 11 people, including three children, and damaged apartment buildings and cars.
Two people were injured in shelling of Rzhevka village, 5 miles to the northeast.
Air raid alarms continued over into Monday with Gladkov posting on social media that Shebekino had been targeted again, damaging two apartment buildings, but that no one had been hurt.
Gladkov warned residents to take shelter.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky took to social media to call on Kyiv’s Western partners to find the political resolve to supply sorely needed air defense systems to Ukraine’s armed forces.
“Almost every hour, there are new reports of Russian terrorist strikes. Missiles, bombs, and artillery — the only thing that allows Russia to continue its aggression is its ability to terrorize our cities and communities, killing ordinary people,” he wrote in a post on X.
“The world can put an end to Russian terror. To achieve this, the lack of political will among leaders must be overcome. Two Patriots for Kharkiv will fundamentally change the situation.
“Air defense systems in our other cities, as well as sufficient support for our warriors on the frontlines, will ensure the defeat of Russian terror.”
Source Agencies
