Russian strike hits Kharkiv kindergarten, children evacuated amid blaze

Russian forces attacked Kharkiv on Wednesday, striking and setting ablaze a kindergarten with children inside, according to authorities.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov and Kharkiv Regional State Administration Head Oleh Synyegubov said there have been at least three explosions in the area.

“A private kindergarten in the Kholodnohirskyi district has been hit. There is a fire at the site of the strike,” Terekhov said, adding later that there is no information about injuries among children.

At least one person was killed and six were wounded in the strike, which occurred at around 9 am local time (10 am CEST).

According to the mayor, preliminary data indicate that Russia attacked Kharkiv with Shahed drones.

Terekhov later announced that the teachers managed to take all 48 children to the bomb shelters, saving their lives when the kindergarten was hit directly.

“But the horror that we all experienced, especially the parents, during those few minutes when no one knew if everyone was alive, will remain in our memories forever.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that according to preliminary information, many children are “experiencing acute stress reactions”.

He shared the photos from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service showing children being evacuated from the site.

“There is no justification for a drone strike on a kindergarten, nor can there ever be. It is clear that Russia is becoming more brazen. These strikes are Russia's slap in the face to everyone who insists on a peaceful solution," Zelenskyy said.

“Bandits and terrorists can only be put in their place by force”.

The drone attack on Kharkiv happened a few hours after a large-scale missile and drone attack against Ukraine overnight on Wednesday. Russia is specifically targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

In Kyiv, two people were killed and 29 were injured. In the Brovarsky district of the Kyiv region, four were killed, including two children, a 6-month-old and a 12-year-old, according to the regional authorities.