A missile struck the Freedom Square in central Kharkiv on Tuesday as Russian forces continued their shelling of civilian areas in Ukraine's second-largest city.
Video footage of the attack shows a missile hitting the regional administration building, which serves as the headquarters of the Kharkiv Oblast government. The clip shows an explosion upon impact, ccausing significant damage to the infrastructure as well as passing cars.
This morning the central square of our city and the headquarters of the Kharkiv administration was criminally attacked," regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said in a video on Telegram.
"Russian occupiers continue to use heavy weaponry against the civilian population," he said.
"Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Square and residential districts of Kharkiv. Putin is unable to break Ukraine down. He commits more war crimes out of fury, murders innocent civilians. The world can and must do more. INCREASE PRESSURE, ISOLATE RUSSIA FULLY!" Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet, sharing the video of the attack.
According to NEXTA, six people were injured in the shelling, including one child, the outlet said, citing the Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry. A Ukrainian soldier at the explosion site said in a video that the regional administration building was partially destroyed in the shelling and there were people buried under the rubble.
Footage of the aftermath shows debris on the streets and damaged vehicles on the street outside the building. Video from inside the building shows significant damage to the structure.
11 Civilians Killed in Russian Shelling of Kharkiv
This comes after at least 11 civilians were killed in the Russian shelling in Kharkiv, the second-most populated city of Ukraine, on Monday, as per Regional Governor Oleg Sinegubov. Russia had previously claimed that it is only targeting military infrastructure. Ukraine says it has documented attacks on residential areas and accused Russian forces of war crimes.
"Dozens of dead civilians are lying in the middle of the streets, there are very seriously injured. Affected cars along with passengers burned to the ground. What is happening in Kharkiv now is a war crime! It is a genocide of the Ukrainian people," Sinegubov, who heads the Kharkiv military state administration, said to news agency AFP.
"As a result of the bombardments that are ongoing, we cannot call on the emergency services," he was quoting as saying.
Meanwhile, as Russia's war on Ukraine continued for the sixth day on Tuesday, satellite images showed a 40 miles long (64 km) Russian military convoy was approaching capital city Kyiv from the north.
