Russian forces used drones armed with thermobaric warheads in a mass assault on Ukraine's northeastern metropolis of Kharkiv that injured at the very least 51 folks, together with two kids, Ukraine’s regional prosecutors stated on Could 3.
The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Workplace stated in an announcement that the strike late on Could 2 concerned at the very least 15 loitering munitions, possible the Shahed-type “Geran-2” drones. 4 districts of Kharkiv got here beneath hearth, igniting quite a few fires throughout Ukraine’s second-largest metropolis.
Investigators discovered that Russian drones carried thermobaric munitions, a kind of weapon recognized for producing highly effective blast waves and high-temperature clouds, inflicting extreme destruction and posing excessive dangers to civilians. Prosecutors stated their use could represent a deliberate violation of worldwide humanitarian regulation.
"There weren’t and couldn’t be any army targets," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Could 2. "Russia is hitting residential buildings on the very time when Ukrainians are at house, when they’re placing their kids to mattress. Solely tyrants can provide such orders and carry them out."
The injured included two kids, aged 11 and 16. The assault broken residential buildings, academic establishments, companies, autos, and retailers. No less than eight victims had been hospitalized, in line with native authorities.
The Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Workplace has launched pretrial investigations into conflict crimes beneath Ukrainian legal code Article 438, in coordination with native police.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 12 areas had been struck throughout the town. Firefighters and emergency crews labored by means of the evening to extinguish fires and help residents.
Whereas Moscow continues to publicly specific readiness for peace talks, Ukrainian officers have dismissed such rhetoric as manipulation, pointing to intensifying assaults throughout the nation. Kharkiv has confronted repeated airstrikes all through Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Zelensky renewed requires Ukraine’s companions to urgently strengthen air defenses. "Whereas the world is delaying choices, virtually each evening in Ukraine turns right into a horror that ends in the lack of lives. Ukraine wants strengthened air defenses," he stated.
In March, 164 Ukrainian civilians had been killed and 910 injured, in line with UN information — practically all in areas beneath Kyiv’s management and primarily as a result of missile and drone strikes. Russian forces have ramped up aerial assaults in latest weeks on cities together with Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, Kyiv, Odesa, and Kharkiv.
The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta