21 civilians killed in Russian attack on Kharkiv governorate, NE Ukraine: Governor

By Ruslan Rehimov and Mustafa Deveci

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AA) - At least 21 civilians have been killed and 112 others injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine's northeastern governorate of Kharkiv, its governor said Wednesday.

Oleh Synyehubov said on his Telegram channel that over the last 24 hours, the city has faced intense missile and artillery fire from the Russian army, and Russian mechanized units have attempted to attack from the northeast and north. The governorate borders Russia, and its capital is the Kharkiv metropolis, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

Saying that all the attacks were repulsed, Synyehubov added that they captured more than 40 vehicles belonging to the Russian army.

He said that Russian Su-25 planes bombed the airport in the Chuhuiv region and the tank school on the Poltava road. Ukrainian soldiers shot down a Russian army plane, he said.

Synyehubov said Russian forces fired missiles at residences, hospitals, and a university in Kharkiv during the day, moves he described as war crimes.

Since Russia's war on Ukraine began last Thursday, it has been met with outrage from the international community, with the European Union, UK and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.

Russia was further isolated after its planes were barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and a number of its banks were kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.

So far, at least 136 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, including 13 children, and 400 others injured, including 26 children, according to UN figures.

Some 680,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, the UN Refugee Agency said Tuesday.