Russian bombing of Kharkiv DIY store kills at least 12, injures 43

Ukrainian authorities say the death toll from the Russian bombing of a DIY store in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv stands at 12 people.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Kylmenko wrote on the social media platform Telegram on Sunday that the number of injured in the attack has risen to 43, with 16 people still missing.

The fire that broke out after the airstrike was finally put out early in the day, Klymenko said, after 16 hours of work by firefighters.

Russia attacked the store with at least one glide bomb on Saturday. It later claimed Ukraine had hidden an arms depot in the store.

"The tactic of human shields is being used in Kharkiv - they [the Ukrainians] have set up a military camp and a command post in a shopping centre, which was discovered by our intelligence service," the state agency TASS quoted an unnamed representative of the Russian leadership as saying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said around 200 people were in the Epicentr home improvement store at the time of the attack.

Zelensky described the attack as "another manifestation of Russian madness" and once again asked Ukraine's allies to supply air defence systems to protect its civilians.

European Council President Charles Michel condemned the airstrike as "atrocious," saying "Russia’s efforts to terrorize Ukrainian civilians as part of its war of aggression against Ukraine are criminal."

Kharkiv, which lies only 30 kilometres from the Russian border, has been one of the worst-hit cities in Moscow's bombing campaign since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Overnight raids across Ukraine

Other cities across Ukraine were also targeted by Russia on Saturday night, Kiev said.

The Ukrainian air force said a range of missiles, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, rockets and drones were fired at western Ukraine.

Explosions were reported from the Khmelnytskyi region, where the Starokostiantyniv air force base is also located.

According to the regional administration, a residential building was hit in the Vinnytsia region. Three people were injured in the attack, Governor Serhiy Borzov wrote on Telegram.

The Lviv region on the border with Poland was also attacked, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi wrote on Telegram.

An explosion was heard near the capital Kiev, reported the public broadcaster Suspilne. Air raid warnings sounded across the country.

The heavy night-time air raid was preceded by the launch of Tu-95 strategic bombers in Russia, which fire cruise missiles. Later, MiG-31 fighter jets, which are the carrier systems for the Kinzhal, also took off.

Zelensky's appeals to Biden and Xi over peace summit

Zelensky meanwhile also appealed for US President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping to participate in a planned peace summit in Switzerland in June.

"We do not want the UN Charter to be burnt down just like these books, and I hope you don't want to either," said Zelensky against the backdrop of a printing plant destroyed by a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv.

"The efforts of the global majority are the best guarantee that all commitments will be fulfilled. Please, support the peace summit with your personal leadership and participation," Zelensky added, addressing Biden and Xi directly in English in a video posted on the social media platform Telegram.

Switzerland has invited around 160 countries to a peace summit on June 15-16 to discuss possible ways to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine. Russia, which invaded Ukraine more than two years ago, has not received an invitation.

According to Zelensky, Moscow is currently preparing another attack in northern Ukraine after a recent offensive near the north-eastern city of Kharkiv.

Military experts say another Russian offensive in the northern Sumy region is possible. Russia's aim could be to exploit its manpower and material superiority, overstretch the Ukrainian defence lines and thus achieve the collapse of the Ukrainian front line.

According to Zelensky, the preparations for the attack and the ongoing "terrorist" shelling of cities in Ukraine show that Russia - contrary to its rhetoric - is not ready for negotiations on a real peace. At best, he argued, the Kremlin is seeking a ceasefire which will then be broken again by Russian missiles.