Two Russian missiles struck a hotel in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, injuring 13 people including foreign journalists, local authorities said Thursday.
The strikes on Wednesday evening came as both Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of inflicting dozens of civilian casualties in a sharp escalation of attacks.
“Thirteen people were injured,” including a Turkish citizen and a Georgian, the prosecutor general’s office said.
“Two missiles hit a hotel in the center of Kharkiv. There were no military personnel there. Instead, there were 30 civilians,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov posted on Telegram.
One of the wounded is in “very serious condition,” he said, adding that “Turkish journalists are among the victims.”
Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said S-300 missiles were fired from the Russian frontier region of Belgorod, adding that a 35-year-old man was hospitalized in serious condition.”
Several other buildings, including two apartment blocks, were also reported damaged in the latest strike.
“In addition to the hotel, residential buildings were affected — one communal, one private, a car dealership, and a manufacturing enterprise,” Mayor Terekhov said.
Located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Russian border, Ukraine’s second-largest city has seen regular and often deadly aerial assaults.
Across the border, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had downed four Ukrainian drones over the Tula, Kaluga and Rostov regions.
Voronezh region Governor Alexander Gusev also reported that a Ukrainian drone had hit “the roof of a non-residential building” overnight, although said there was “no harm done.”
