Seven people are killed in Russian strikes on Kharkiv while the city begs for arms

Seven people were killed at a printing house on Thursday when Russia launched missiles into Kharkiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized his western partners for not offering enough military backing to repel Russian strikes.

After months of bombardment, Moscow’s forces on May 10 began a land invasion into the northern part of the surrounding area. According to Kyiv, this advance has temporarily stopped on two fronts.

According to the authorities, Russia fired roughly fifteen missiles against Kharkiv and the neighboring town of Liubotyn. The missiles were primarily aimed at the city’s transportation infrastructure and a sizable printing house that employed about fifty people at the time of the strike.

From a huge hole ripped in the building’s roof, smoke billowed forth. Weary rescue personnel removed remains from the structure and placed them in plastic bags. There were charred book pages all over the place.

Reporters were informed at the location by regional governor Oleh Syniehubov that “there are no military facilities either here or nearby.”

Officials reported that 28 more individuals were hurt in the attacks. The missiles were fired from Russia’s neighboring Belgorod region, which Russian forces used to commence their incursion on May 10, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.

Following attacks on multiple of its locations in Kharkiv and the surrounding area, the state railway firm announced that six of its employees had also sustained injuries.

According to reports, Russia also dropped guided bombs on the nearby town of Derhachi, causing damage to private homes and at least 13 further injuries.

“NOT OUR FAULTIES”

Zelenskiy criticized Kyiv’s foreign allies on social media for failing to provide enough air defense systems and for enabling Ukraine to utilize weaponry supplied by the West to attack missile installations within Russia.

“This weakness is not our weakness, but that of the world’s, which for the third year already has not dared to deal with the terrorists exactly as they deserve,” he stated.

The frustration expressed by the Ukrainian leader in his speech has increased as his forces, outnumbered and outgunned, have failed to repel intense Russian attacks on several sections of a front line spanning over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

The Ukrainian troops, some of whom have been engaged in combat since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, were further taxed by the recent offensive effort by Russian forces into the northern part of the Kharkiv region this month.

Following their troops’ stalling on two key lines of attack, Russia is now sending reserve forces to bolster Ukraine’s assault operations in the northern areas of the territory, according to a statement issued by the country’s senior commander.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed that Russian soldiers had moved to a defensive position close to the village of Lyptsi as a result of ongoing street fighting in the border town of Vovchansk.

Situated approximately 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border, Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, has been subjected to frequent and intense airstrikes in the past few months.

This week, Zelenskiy urged Kyiv’s allies to intensify their engagement in the conflict by taking down Russian missiles over the country, during an interview with Reuters.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Thursday that Ukraine urgently needs more Patriot batteries built in the United States, echoing Zelenskiy’s request for additional air defense systems.

“Unfortunately, mere words of solidarity do not intercept Russian missiles,” he posted to X.