Russia-Ukraine war live: Hotel strike injures 11 in Kharkiv as Putin’s exhausted troops ‘hit own towns’

Two Russian missiles struck a hotel late on Wednesday in the centre of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, injuring 11 people, one person seriously, the regional governor said.

Pictures posted online showed many of the windows blown out and balconies destroyed with large piles of rubble in the street below. Emergency teams made their way through gaping holes in the facade to sift through rubble inside.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synehubov said the strike at about 10.30 pm local time involved S-300 missiles in the city’s Kyiv district.

“Nine of those injured have been taken to medical facilities,” Synehubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “One of them, a 35-year-old man, is in serious condition.”

Visiting Turkish journalists were among the injured, he wrote.

“By exporting missiles to Russia, the DPRK uses Ukraine as the test site of its nuclear-capable missiles,” the envoy told the gathering of international leaders in Washington, using the abbreviation for the official name of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korea may be poised to provide a new type of missiles to Russia, and may conduct further weapons tests to escalate tensions ahead of South Korean and US elections, South Korea’s defence chief said.

“North Korea, which needs money, is actively selling new weapons that Russia wants,” Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said.

Shin cited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit this week to munitions factories, where he inspected what may be recently developed close-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons.

Kim’s visit to arms factories came as nearly 50 countries condemned Russia’s procurement and use of North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has buoyed his citizens’ spirits, saying: “We cannot mark a specific day when Russia will retreat, nor can we detail every aspect of how it will unfold. But we know that it will happen. Our freedom will prevail, and there will be that day, the first day after this war. Our day.”

He spoke after visiting Lithuania, where he agreed deals to support joint projects on subjects including drones and electronic warfare, demining equipment and software.

Reminder of how Russia attacked on Monday: Moscow launched its latest barrage of hypersonic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets, striking near the front lines of fighting in the east as well as in central and western parts of the country, officials said. At least four civilians were reported killed and at least 30 injured:

Russia plans to begin production of a new glide bomb, Drel, this year, Russian state-run media TASS has reported, citing the Russian state-owned arms manufacturer Rostec.

The bombs are designed to be dropped by jets far from their targets, then use a guided flight path to accurately deliver a payload that Western analysts consider to be a cluster munition.

Russia already has glide bombs in its arsenal and has used them against Ukraine.

The Drel is designed to destroy armoured vehicles, ground-based radar stations, power plant control centres and anti-aircraft missile systems, TASS said.

Military analysts say it is also resistant to jamming and to radar detection, making it difficult to destroy.

Editorial: Vladimir Putin cannot sustain the current level of Russian casualties for long:

Russia’s foreign ministry summoned the Moldovan ambassador on Wednesday and issued a protest against “unfriendly acts” in the latest of a series of jabs exchanged between the Kremlin and the ex-Soviet state’s pro-European authorities.

A ministry statement denounced the “systematic character” of Moldovan actions it said were directed against Russian citizens. These, it said, included “politically motivated persecution” of Russian and Russian-language journalists.

“Moldova’s leadership continues to make aggressive anti-Russian declarations,” the statement said Moldovan ambassador Lilian Darie was told.

Since taking power in 2020, President Maia Sandu has moved to abandon the Soviet legacy of the country lying between Ukraine and Romania and move it into the European mainstream.

She has denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accused Moscow of trying to interfere in last November’s local elections in Moldova and of trying to foment a coup to remove her.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says he and officials reached “significant” agreements on joint defence production in meetings with Lithuanian counterparts.

After a visit to Vilnius, he said: “I appreciate the Lithuanian government’s support for Ukraine. It holds great significance for us.”

Nine people have been wounded in a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, the regional governor has said.

It is the fourth day in a row the city has been targeted.

Kharkiv governor Oleh Synehubov, writing on Telegram, said the strike involved a S-300 missile, but provided no further details. He said emergency crews were at the scene.

There’s no word yet of whether anyone was killed.