Three killed and over 60 injured in Russian strikes on Kharkiv, talks hit deadlock
Three people were killed and more than 60 were injured in Russian airstrikes targeting Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, as peace talks hit a deadlock.
Russia launched a record number of drones and missiles on areas in Ukraine in recent weeks after putting forward tough demands to end the fighting, which Kyiv rejected.
The new Russian attack on Kharkiv resulted in the death of three people and injuries to around sixty others, including nine children, according to local authorities.
The mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov, said that “17 strikes with drones hit two areas” in this city.
Kharkiv, located less than 50 kilometers from the Russian border, has been witnessing widespread nightly attacks for a week.
The city witnessed the “most violent attack since the start of the war”, with 50 Russian drones targeting it.
Meanwhile, Ukraine yesterday announced the retrieval of 1,212 bodies of its soldiers killed during the war with Russia, in one of the largest operations of its kind since the start of the Russian attack over three years ago. Russia announced that it would exchange prisoners of war with Ukraine today, “who are suffering from severe injuries,” in an operation that falls within the framework of an agreement reached by Moscow and Kyiv during recent negotiations in Istanbul.
Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on social media, “On Thursday, we will start urgent ‘healthy exchange’ operations for prisoners with severe injuries,” noting that Russia retrieved the bodies of 27 of its soldiers killed in the war with Ukraine.
In contrast, Ukraine is intensifying its drone attacks on Russia, but says it is primarily targeting strategic facilities.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it intercepted 32 Ukrainian drones over Russia on Tuesday night.