Russia-Ukraine war: Putin’s ‘air strike on Kharkiv postal centre kills six and injures 14’

Six people have been killed and at least 14 injured in a Russian missile attack that hit a postal distribution centre in the war-devastated northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.

“Russian missiles hit the Nova Poshta centre – an ordinary civilian object,” President Volodymyr Zelenksiy said on the Telegram messaging app.

He posted a video showing s building with windows blown out and construction materials strewn about, with red trucks with Nova Poshta written in Ukrainian in front of it.

Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which the city of Kharkiv is the administrative centre, said several of the injured were in serious condition in hospital.

Those killed and injured were employees of the postal centre, Synehubov said on Telegram. Police said the workers did not have time to run to the shelter, because the siren sounded a second before impact.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched against its neighbour in February 2022.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was devastated in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine’s air defence systems destroyed six Russia-launched attack drones and a cruise missile overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Sunday, adding that in total Russia launched nine cruise missiles on Ukraine.

Russian forces launched a renewed offensive push near Avdiivka on Friday, according to a US war think tank.

The Insitute for the Study of War (ISW) said Moscow’s troops had “marginally advanced”.

It added the latest offensive indicated that the Russian military command “remains committed to offensive operations in the area despite heavy materiel and personnel losses”.

This includes the damage and destruction of almost 50 Russian tanks and over 100 armored vehicles by Ukrainian forces during the past day of fighting near Avdiivka, reported the Ukrainian General Staff on Friday, according to the ISW.

The lower house of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday gave its final approval to a bill revoking the ratification of a global nuclear test ban treaty, a move Moscow described as putting it on par with the United States.

The State Duma lawmakers voted unanimously to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the third and final reading on Wednesday. The bill will now go to the upper house, the Federation Council, which will consider it next week. Federation Council lawmakers have already said they will support the bill.

Two people were killed and at least three were injured after Russian missiles hit Zaporizhzhia’s central district on Wednesday 18 October, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry has reported.

Footage released by the Ukrainian emergency service showed rescuers carrying survivors out of a damaged residential building in the district.

Regional Governor Yurii Malashko said more people could be trapped under rubble.

Mr Malashko said the attack was likely conducted with six S-300 missiles that take only 42 seconds to reach the city once launched from Russian-controlled territories.

The foreign ministers of Russia and North Korea met Thursday in Pyongyang for talks expected to focus on how to boost their military ties, days after the United States accused the North of sending fresh shipments of munitions to Russia to support its war efforts in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew to Pyongyang on Wednesday for a two-day trip. During a reception speech later in the day, Lavrov said he thanked North Korea for its strong support for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Ukrainian special forces reported on Tuesday that they had struck two Russian military airfields, following the first-time deployment of long-range ballistic missiles supplied by the US.

The details of the weapons’ delivery has been shrouded in secrecy – unlike previous aid provided to Ukraine from the Biden Administration.

Delays in Western military aid handed Moscow time to build heavily fortified defences which have largely held up against months of intense assaults – and constraints in ammunition and weaponry now mean both armies may struggle to sustain the current pace of the war, some analysts believe.

At least 10 civilians in Ukraine were killed on Wednesday in Russian attacks as Ukrainian military officials confirmed battlefield gains in counteroffensive operations in the south of the warzone.

Mr Lavrov is in North Korea for meetings viewed as preparatory efforts ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit as Moscow and Pyongyang slide closer in diplomatic cooperation against Ukraine and the West.