Impact in front of high-rise building: Russian glide bomb injured 21 people in Kharkiv

Impact in front of high-rise building
Russian glide bomb injured 21 people in Kharkiv

22.09.2024, 14:58

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The Russian armed forces have been using glide bombs more and more for some time now. Mostly against military positions in Ukraine, but also against civilian targets. One of them has now hit a high-rise building in Kharkiv. Several children are among the many injured.

According to the authorities, 21 people were injured in a bomb attack on the Russian city of Kharkiv near the border with Russia last night. A glide bomb exploded in front of the entrance to a high-rise building, police said. Among the injured were minors – two 17-year-olds and an 8-year-old child, it was reported. Around 80 residents of the apartment building had to be brought to safety.

According to Governor Oleh Synjehubov, a 17-year-old boy and a 39-year-old woman were seriously injured. The other victims suffered moderate injuries. Two high-rise buildings were reportedly badly damaged by the bombing; in seven other damaged buildings, the windows were broken.

Glide bombs dropped from great distances

Russia keeps attacking Kharkiv. Ukraine's second-largest city is located near the border with Russia and was home to 1.4 million people before the Russian invasion in February 2022. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said at the site of the latest attack: “Every day and every night Kharkiv suffers from the attacks.”

During the two and a half years of aggressive wars against Ukraine, Russia has increasingly increased the use of glide bombs. These can be dropped from aircraft from great distances – in the case of Kharkiv, partly over Russian territory – and then guided to the target. The destructive power of these bombs is significantly greater than that of drones.

Ukraine is demanding that the West release long-range weapons to combat the planes that drop these bombs on the ground. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack showed that American forces must be able to use the weapons supplied by the West to attack targets in Russia's interior. Zelensky, who traveled to New York this week for the UN General Debate and to Washington for talks, said: “We must strengthen our capabilities to protect better human life and ensure our security.”