Two killed in Russian airstrike on hardware superstore in Kharkiv

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Two people were killed and 33 injured after a Russian airstrike attacked a hardware superstore in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday, as reported by Kyiv Independent.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that it was clearly a planned attack and civilians were targeted.

"As of now, we know that more than 200 people could have been inside the hypermarket," Zelenskyy said on Telegram

This was the latest attack which came after Russia launched a ground offensive in the Kharkiv region on May 10 with a reported 30,000 troops.

Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov said in an Instagram post, that at least two people were killed and 33 injured when "two Russian guided bombs hit a construction hypermarket and caused a fire covering 15,000 square meters.

In a later update on Telegram, the Kharkiv Prosecutor's Office said the two dead were both men who worked at the hypermarket. Ten other workers remained unaccounted for.

"Russia deliberately hit a civilian object in the middle of the weekend," Ukraine's Internal Affairs Minister, Ihor Klymenko said.

"Russia has launched another brutal attack on our Kharkiv on a construction hypermarket," Zelenskyy said on X while condemning the daylight attack.

"All the emergency services are already on the site providing assistance, rescuing people, and extinguishing the fire that has completely engulfed the building 10,000 square meters. There are killed and injured people," he added.

Zelenskyy also highlighted Ukraine's defence system saying that that if they had enough air defense systems and modern combat aircraft, Russian strikes like this wouldn't have happened.

"If Ukraine had sufficient air defence systems and modern combat aircraft, Russian strikes like this one would have been impossible. And that is why we appeal to all leaders, to all states: we need a significant enhancement of air defence and sufficient capabilities to destroy Russian terrorists," Ukraine's president said.

"This is a task that must be accomplished and can only be accomplished together with the world. Every day, we call on the world to provide us with air defence and to save our people. Every unmade decision to support us results in the loss of our people," he added.

Russian forces regularly conduct ground shelling and aerial attacks against population centres in Kharkiv Oblast. Local Ukrainian authorities have also reported instances of civilian executions at the hands of Russian troops.

Notably, the US has offered support to Ukraine since the war between Moscow and Kyiv started in 2022. Earlier this month, Antony Blinken arrived on a surprise visit to Ukraine to foster ties and reaffirm American support to Kyiv amid its ongoing war with Russia.