At least four individuals, among them three very young children, have died following a Russian strike in a community situated west of Kharkiv. This information was provided by a Ukrainian official.
Oleg Synegubov, who leads the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, reported that two infant boys, both one year old, a two-year-old girl, and a 34-year-old man perished. The casualties occurred after a drone struck a residence where they were located.
In the same attack on Bohodukhiv, a 35-year-old pregnant woman and a 76-year-old woman sustained injuries, according to Synegubov.
The strike on Bohodukhiv, which took place Tuesday night, follows a period where Moscow had seemingly renewed its offensive actions after a week-long pause. This pause had been requested by U.S. President Donald Trump, urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe a period of calm as severe cold gripped Ukraine.
Additionally, Russian forces deployed seven bombs targeting the city of Slovyansk around midday on Tuesday, as reported by Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin via Telegram. Two individuals, including an 11-year-old girl, were killed in this incident.
Bohodukhiv had previously been targeted by Russian forces earlier in the week.
On Monday, overnight drone strikes across the nation caused power disruptions for tens of thousands and resulted in at least four fatalities. Among those killed were a mother and her 10-year-old son in Bohodukhiv, Ukrainian officials stated, as per Reuters.
Bohodukhiv is located to the west of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. A power plant in Kharkiv sustained damage earlier in February.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that Russian forces are intensifying their efforts in the region. These efforts involve targeting transportation and energy infrastructure with a significant number of ballistic missiles.
Local authorities in the Kharkiv region have declared a state of emergency concerning the energy supply situation.
This declaration follows the expiration of a so-called “energy truce.” This informal agreement was intended to provide a respite for Ukraine’s energy sector amidst temperatures dipping to -20 degrees Celsius.
Zelensky has conveyed that the United States aims for the conflict with Russia to conclude by June. Both parties have reportedly been invited to the U.S. for discussions scheduled for the following week.
Meanwhile, reports emerged on Wednesday night of a substantial Ukrainian drone attack targeting Volzhsky in Russia’s Volgograd region. According to Andrei Bocharov, the Governor of the Volgograd Region, the strike caused damage to an apartment building and ignited a fire at a nearby factory.