Update: 12 killed, 43 injured in Russian strike on Kharkiv hypermarket
Editor's Note: The article was updated at 7:49 a.m. local time after officials released further information on the number of killed and wounded.
Twelve people have been killed and 43 injured in a May 25 Russian strike on a building materials hypermarket in Kharkiv, the regional prosecutor's office reported.
Ten of the bodies remain unidentified, the prosecutor's office said the morning of May 26.
In a post on Telegram, Governor Oleh Syniehubov Syniehubov said two Russian guided bombs had hit the building, killing two and causing a fire covering 15,000 square meters.
"Russia deliberately hit a civilian object in the middle of the weekend," Ukraine's Internal Affairs Minister, Ihor Klymenko said.
According to a post on social media from President Volodymyr Zelensky, more than 200 people may have been inside the hypermarket at the time of the attack.
Russia has launched another brutal attack on our Kharkiv – on a construction hypermarket, on Saturday, right in the middle of the day.
As of now, it is believed that more than 200 people were in the hypermarket. All the emergency services are already on the site and providing… pic.twitter.com/9ItlGHkkEY— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 25, 2024
Mere hours after the attack on the hypermarket, Russian forces launched a second strike on Kharkiv's city center, injuring at least 25 people.
Russia launched a new offensive on May 10 in northern Kharkiv Oblast with a reported 30,000 troops.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Moscow's forces had managed to advance as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) in the region but had been halted by the first line of defense.
Russian forces regularly conduct ground shelling and aerial attacks against population centers in Kharkiv Oblast. Local Ukrainian authorities have also reported instances of civilian executions at the hands of Russian troops.
Read also: Zelensky: Ukrainian forces take back control near state border in Kharkiv Oblast
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