Ukraine updates: Russian strike on Kharkiv DIY store kills 6

Russian strikes on a crowded DIY hardware store in Kharkiv on Saturday killed at least six people and injured dozens, the region’s Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on national television.

Forty people were injured, with at least three in serious condition. Sixteen people were still unaccounted for, Syniehubov said.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said about 120 people had been in the hardware store when the bombs struck.

"The attack targeted the shopping center, where there were many people — this is clearly terrorism," Terekhov said.

The past week has seen an uptick in strikes on the city after Russian troops stormed across the border, opening a new front north of the city.

US President Joe Biden said that he does not intend to send troops to Ukraine.

"There are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. I'm determined to keep it that way, but we are standing strong with Ukraine, and we will stand with them," he said during a speech to the graduating class of the West Point Military Academy in New York.

Last month, US lawmakers passed a $61 billion (€56.2 billion) aid deal for Ukraine after months of delays in Congress over opposition from hardline Republicans.

Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin expected the NATO military alliance to "fracture" after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"Instead, the greatest defense alliance in the history of the world is stronger than ever," he said.

Biden is campaigning for re-election in November.

The governor of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said that four people were killed in a strike on a hardware store in the regional capital.

"Unfortunately there are already four dead," he said in a post on the Telegram messaging service.

Syniehubov said in an earlier post that two workers at the store had been killed in the strike.

The number of wounded in a strike on a hardware store in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv rose to 40, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram.

Ukrainian authorities had earlier reported that two workers at the store were killed and 33 people were wounded in the strike.

Terekhov said that the 11 people had been injured in a separate strike on a residential area in central Kharkiv. Authorities had previously reported eight injuries.

The Reuters news agency reported that the strike left a crater several meters deep at the foot of a residential building.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that 11 people were injured in a separate strike on the city in northeastern Ukraine.

He said that the strike hit a "dense residential area" in a central part of the city.

It comes just hours after Ukrainian authorities reported a Russian strike on a hardware store in Kharkiv that killed two and injured dozens.

Thirty-three people were wounded in a Russian strike that killed at least two people at a hardware store in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to officials.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that two people killed worked at the store.

"Two people were killed. They were men who worked in the hypermarket," Syniehubov said in a video posted to the Telegram messaging service.

"The number of wounded has gone up to 33 people," he said in a separate post.

At least two people died in a Russian strike on a hardware store in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

"We know for sure about two dead," Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on the Telegram messaging service.

Terekhov said that a large number of people were missing.

Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that two Russian guided bombs hit the hardware store and caused a fire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media that over 200 people could have been within the store.

He posted a video showing the store in flames.

Zelenskyy appealed for Kyiv's allies to provide Ukraine with additional air defense systems to protect more of its territories.

"If Ukraine had sufficient air defense systems and modern combat aircraft, Russian strikes like this one would have been impossible," he said. 

"And that is why we appeal to all leaders, to all states: we need a significant enhancement of air defense and sufficient capabilities to destroy Russian terrorists."

In recent weeks, Russia has been pushing forward in a major offensive in the Kharkiv region. Ukraine said on Friday that it had managed to halt the Russian advance, while the Chief of Staff said the situation remained "tense."

Russia says its military has captured another village in eastern Ukraine, the latest in a series of small territorial gains for Moscow.

The Russian Defense Ministry said troops had "taken control of the village of Arkhengelske" in the Donetsk region, which is close to other villages seized by Russia earlier this month.

Ukraine has not yet confirmed the capture of the village. 

Russian forces are also advancing in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine after repulsing two counterattacks by Ukrainian forces, the Russian ministry said.

Ukraine earlier said it had "stopped" the Russian advance in the Kharkiv region, but the Ukrainian General Staff admitted Saturday that "the enemy has partial success" and said "the situation is tense" as fighting continues.

China's support for Moscow is a crucial factor in the Russia's war against Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

"China says it wants to maintain good relations with the West. At the same time, however, Beijing is fuelling the war in Europe. You can't have it both ways," he said.

There has been a significant increase in sales of machine parts, microelectronics and other technologies that Moscow is using to produce missiles, tanks and aircraft for use against Ukraine, according to NATO chief.

There are no records of China supplying arms or ammunition to Russia. However, other exports from China to Russia, including so-called "dual-use" goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, have increased significantly since the war began.

Commenting on the situation on the ground in Ukraine, Stoltenberg told the newspaper: "Ukraine has suffered setbacks in the theatre of war due to a lack of ammunition and weapons. But it is not yet too late for Ukraine to win."

NATO countries need to provide Kyiv with more weapons and munitions, including air defence systems and long-range weapons, Stoltenberg said.

The German Interior Ministry is calling for a system to allocate new refugees from Ukraine across the EU.

Germany is "strongly in favor of solidarity in the distribution of those seeking protection and is of the opinion that it is particularly necessary to discuss and find solutions with regard to secondary migration from other EU member states," a spokesman for Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told Die Welt newspaper. 

Crucial negotiations for a follow-up regulation for Ukrainian refugees are currently in progress at the EU level. 

The temporary protection provided under the mass influx directive is set to expire on March 4, 2025. 

Germany's Defense Ministry on Friday confirmed that another IRIS-T air defense system had been delivered to Ukraine.

"We have once again delivered a combined IRIS-T SLM and IRIS-T SLS fire unit to Ukraine," said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

Pistorius spoke of a "highly modern and well-proven medium and short-range air defense system, manufactured directly by German industry."

Together with the recently delivered Patriot system, Germany is thus "strengthening Ukraine's air defense in its defensive battle against Russia's brutal war of aggression, which violates international law," Pistorius said. 

Each IRIS-T system consists of truck-mounted launchers, missiles, a radar unit and a separate command vehicle. 

It is designed to protect cities, military personnel and civilian populations from air attacks, being capable of defending against planes, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones, cruise missiles and loitering munitions.  

It has an operational range of 40 kilometers (25 miles) and can attain an altitude of 20 kilometers.

Prior to Friday's delivery, Germany had already supplied Ukraine with three Iris-T SLM and one Iris-T SLS air defense systems as well as two Patriot air defense systems.

Pistorius said that Russia has been stepping up its air attacks on Ukraine for months, killing people and destroying important infrastructure.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces had managed to secure "combat control" of areas in the Kharkiv region where Russian forces had pushed into this month.

"Our soldiers have now managed to take combat control of the border area where the Russian occupiers entered," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

Zelenskyy visited the region's capital on Friday to discuss the battle for Vovchansk, a town situated less than five kilometres (three miles) from the border.

"The Ukrainian Defence Forces have stopped Russian troops in the Kharkiv sector... The situation is under control, counter-offensive actions are underway," Ukraine's military said.

Despite initial success, "the enemy has got completely bogged down in street battles for Vovchansk and suffered very high losses in assault units," Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said on social media.

Viktor Vodolatskiy, a member of Russia's lower house of parliament, meanwhile was quoted by Tass news agency as saying that Russian forces controlled more than half the territory of the town of Vovchansk.

Vodolatskiy was quoted as saying that once Vovchansk was secured, Russian forces would target three cities in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region — Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk.

The battlefield accounts from either side cannot be independently verified.

The US has announced $275 million (€253 million) in military aid for Ukraine as efforts to fend off Russian advances in the Kharkiv region continue.

"The United States is announcing today a significant new drawdown of weapons and equipment for Ukraine to support the brave Ukrainian people as they defend their country," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"This $275 million package, which is part of our efforts to help Ukraine repel Russia's assault near Kharkiv, contains urgently needed capabilities," said Blinken. 

The package includes high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, munitions as well 155 mm and 105 mm high-demand artillery rounds.

Other items in the aid package include Javelin and AT-4 antitank systems, including antitank mines, tactical vehicles, small arms and ammunition for those weapons.

Last month, US lawmakers greenlit a long-delayed $61 billion military aid deal for Ukraine after months of deadlock in Congress as Ukrainian forces experienced shortages on the battlefield.

Since then, President Joe Biden has ordered five tranches of military aid to be sent to Ukraine.

kb, sdi/sri, wd (dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP)