At least 10 people were killed when Russia hit a five-story residential building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with a ballistic missile, local officials said on March 8, prompting an angry call from President Volodymyr Zelensky for Western partners to act.
“Since nightfall, [rescue teams] have been dismantling the rubble of a residential building in Kharkiv after a Russian ballistic missile strike,” Zelensky said on Telegram. “The entrance was destroyed, the upper floors of a neighboring building were damaged… There may still be people under the rubble. All necessary services are on site for rescue operations.” Officials said two children were among those killed in the attack. AFP said its reporters saw rescue teams searching through the rubble, where several people were believed to be trapped.
Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synyehubov said 15 people were also injured and 19 residential buildings were damaged in the Russian strikes overnight. “There must be a response from partners to these savage attacks on life. Russia has not abandoned its efforts to destroy Ukraine’s residential and critical infrastructure, so support must continue,” Zelensky said, calling on Western partners to increase supplies of air defense weapons. Russia denies targeting civilian areas, despite ample evidence of such attacks. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said its forces carried out massive strikes overnight on Ukrainian military-industrial complexes, military airfields and energy facilities, Interfax reported.
Ukrainian officials said Russia also attacked four railway stations and other rail infrastructure in central Ukraine, as well as port facilities in the Odessa region in the south of the country. Moscow, Kiev and Washington have been engaged in trilateral negotiations in an attempt to end Russia's conflict with Ukraine, which escalated into full-scale war after the Russian invasion in February 2022. However, those talks appear to have been suspended since the United States, along with Israel, launched a massive air campaign against Iran, prompting Iranian retaliation against many Gulf Arab states.
