©Reuters. Local residents react near a burnt house at the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, February 10, 2024. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
2/7
KIEV (Reuters) -A Ukrainian couple and their three young children were killed in a fire after a Russian drone attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv hit an oil depot, sparking fires and damaging some residential houses, they said on Saturday officials.
An elderly couple who lived on the same street as the family were also killed and three other people were injured in the city.
The drones struck Friday evening, starting several large fires and burning at least 15 residential houses in eastern Kharkiv, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synehubov said.
The family of five killed people lived in one of the houses on Kotelnia Street in the eastern part of the city
Serhii Bolvinov, head of the investigative department of the region’s National Police.
Bolvinov, speaking to reporters on the burned street, said the children were 7, 4 and 10 months old.
The Ukrainian Air Force said that air defense and mobile groups of drone hunters shot down 23 of 31 drones launched by Russia, which were targeting the Kharkiv region and also the Odessa region in the south.
Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odessa region, said the drone attack injured four people and damaged industrial facilities, cars and some port infrastructure.
In Kharkiv, Synehubov said several drones hit the oil depot causing the fuel leak. Firefighters and rescuers worked all night to put out the fire and clear the rubble.
Synehubov also said Russian drones hit a restaurant in the small town of Velykyi Berluk, about 100 km from Kharkiv. He reported no casualties there.
Russia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow has said its forces do not deliberately target civilian sites.
Kharkiv has been regularly attacked since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been a frequent target of Russian attacks in recent weeks.