| 25 May 2024 Kharkiv missile strikes | |
|---|---|
| Part ofRussian strikes on Kharkiv and2024 Kharkiv offensive | |
.jpg) HypermarketEpicentr K after the bombing | |
| Location | Kharkiv,Ukraine |
| Date | 25 May 2024 |
Attack type | Missile and guided bomb strike |
| Deaths | 19[1] |
| Injured | 65[2][3][4] |
| Perpetrators |  Russia |
Air strikes onKharkiv were carried out by theRussian Armed Forces in four locations on 25 May 2024. At least one UMPB D-30SN bomb was dropped at anEpicentr K hypermarket, destroying it.[5] Russian forces dropped another bomb on thecentral park of culture and recreation, but it did not detonate.[6][7] In the evening, Russian forces hit a street in a dense residential area of the city.[8] At least two of the victims killed in the airstrike were Epicentr store employees.[8]
According to the Kharkiv Oblast Governor, 19 people were killed as a result of the attacks[1] and at least 65 were injured.[9][10]
The strikes happened amid an ongoing limitedRussian offensive inKharkiv Oblast which started on 10 May. The city ofKharkiv has faced frequent attacks since months prior and its energy infrastructure has already been severely damaged. Ukraine has also increased shelling of theBelgorod region.[11]
On 19 May 6 people were killed in a Russian strike on the outskirts of Kharkiv, according to the Regional Prosecutor's Office. The same day, three Ukrainian drones were shot down over Belgorod region, burning a church roof, according to local officials.[12] On 23 May, Russian forces fired 15 missiles at Kharkiv, resulting in the death of 7 people[13] and wounding 20.[14][15]
Russian forces have previously struck at six other Epicentr shopping centers inBucha,Nikopol,Mariupol,Kharkiv,Kherson andChernihiv.[16]
At 00:35 and 00:47 on 25 May, Russian troops fired S-300 missiles at the Slobodsky district of Kharkiv and destroyed part of a lyceum, and also damaged 31 cars.[17]
At approximately 16:00, Russian forces struck theKyivskyi District of Kharkiv with at least one UMPB D30-SN aerial bomb, allegedly from theBelgorod oblast of Russia. The strike was conducted on anEpicentr construction hypermarket and resulted in three large explosions. The market was estimated to have contained about 120 people at the time of the missile strikes.[18] Interior MinisterIhor Klymenko reported that the missile strikes caused a fire covering 13,000 square metres that took 16 hours to fully put out.[18] According to the Kharkiv Oblast Governor, the attack on the hypermarket killed 19 and injured at least 54 people, three of which were injured seriously.[1][9][8] At least two of the victims killed in the airstrike were Epicentr store employees.[8]
Russian state media cited a security source as saying, that a "military warehouse and command post" were set up in the shopping center and claimed that theUkrainian Armed Forces were using "human shield tactics".[19]
At 17:00, Russian forces dropped another bomb on the central park of culture and recreation, and hit the area near the sports ground,[20] but the bomb did not explode and caused no casualties.[21] Ukrainian rescuers then cleared the sports ground.
.jpg)
At 19:00,[20] Russian forces hit a dense residential area in the center of the city with an S-300 missile, striking the pavement next to a residential complex housing a cafe, post office, and beauty salon[8] and wounding 18 people (including a 14-year-old teenager).[3]
In response to the attacks, PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the attacks were "yet another example of Russian madness".[5] Zelenskyy also called for increased air defenses to keep Kharkiv and other cities in the country safe.
French PresidentEmmanuel Macron on social media platformX wrote that the strike on the superstore was "unacceptable."[22]
SeniorUnited Nations officialDenise Brown described the attack on the shopping center as ″utterly unacceptable″, adding that attacks by Russian forces hitting civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop.[23]
