Russian strikes on a crowded DIY hardware store and a residential area in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday killed at least four people and injured dozens, local officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued an impassioned plea to Ukraine's Western allies to help boost air defenses to keep the country's cities safe. Four people were killed after two guided bombs hit the DIY hypermarket in a residential area of the city, Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on national television.
At least two of the dead were store employees. Forty people were injured in the attack and 16 still unaccounted for, Syniehubov said. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said about 120 people had been in the hardware store when the bombs struck.
"The attack targeted the shopping centre, where there were many people - this is clearly terrorism," Terekhov said. An early evening missile strike hit a residential building in the centre of the city of 1.3 million, injuring 18 people, Syniehubov said.
The missile left a crater several metres deep in the pavement at the foot of the building, which also housed a post office, a beauty salon and a cafe. Emergency workers ushered away residents of nearby apartment buildings. Some of the injured had blood on their faces.
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is just 30 kilometers from the Russian border and has been the target of Russian attacks for weeks. This month, Russian troops also staged an incursion into northern areas of Kharkiv Region. Andriy.
