A Russian missile struck the centre of Kharkiv on Tuesday morning in what the country’s foreign minister described as a “barbaric attack”.
As Russian forces continue their destructive assault of Ukraine, enemy forces launched a missile which struck Kharkiv’s regional administration building.
In the video, cars are seen driving by before a massive explosion as the missile hits in the heart of the eastern Ukrainian city.
The strike took place at 8am local time in the city’s Freedom Square. Russian shelling has pounded other civilian targets in the city.
Immediate pictures showed large amounts of debris scattered around the badly damaged building with Ukrainian officials claiming it is too early to tell how many people have been killed.
An emergency official said the bodies of at least six people had been pulled from the ruins, and at least 20 other people were injured.
Images also show rescuers picking through rubble in the city which had come under heavy bombardment.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack on the square "frank, undisguised terror. Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget. This attack on Kharkiv is a war crime".
It was the first time the Russian military had hit the centre of the city of about 1.5 million people whose residential neighbourhoods have been under fire for days.
The Ukrainian emergency service said it had put out 24 fires in and around Kharkiv caused by shelling, and it had disabled 69 explosive devices.
Also struck on Tuesday was a tent site on the central square that had been set up to collect aid for the volunteer Ukrainian fighters who have rushed to Kharkiv's defence.
In recent days, volunteer guards had occupied the regional administration building as part of those efforts.
It was feared that some of the volunteers were now among the dead.
Windows of the administration building were blown out. Ceilings had collapsed and nearby cars destroyed.
Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Square and residential districts of Kharkiv. Putin is unable to break Ukraine down. He commits more war crimes out of fury, murders innocent civilians. The world can and must do more. INCREASE PRESSURE, ISOLATE RUSSIA FULLY! pic.twitter.com/tN4VHF1A9n
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 1, 2022
Following the horrific incident, Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Square and residential districts of Kharkiv.
“Putin is unable to break Ukraine down. He commits more war crimes out of fury, murders innocent civilians.
“The world can and must do more. Increase pressure, isolate Russia finally!”
Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv region also added: “Such attacks are genocide of the Ukrainian people, a war crime against the civilian population!"
Despite the missile strikes on the city, officials have claimed Kharkiv remains in the hands of Ukrainian forces.
Due to the shelling of civilian areas in Kharkiv and other areas of Ukraine, the International Criminal Court has also opened an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity concerning Russia’s invasion.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab also claimed Russian generals and politicians could face jail for life due to the catastrophic weapons which have been unleashed in Ukraine.
Mr Raab told Times Radio: “The ICC (International Criminal Court) prosecutor in The Hague has already said that he is looking at this.
“And the UK in whatever form is necessary will play its role, as we have done over many years since right way back to Nuremberg, to make sure that anyone committing these egregious crimes will be held to account.
“We have shown that recently, Radovan Karadzic, the butcher of the Balkans, has ended up in a British cell, via the Hague for his actions.
“Therefore the seed of doubt must be laid, not just in Putin’s mind, but anyone following these reckless orders and engaged in these reckless attacks on civilians, that they could end up in the dock of a court and they could end up spending the rest of their days behind bars.”
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also said Vladimir Putin has blood on his hands and is violating international law.
The Russian military has denied targeting civilians, despite abundant evidence of shelling of residential buildings, schools and hospitals. The military "takes all measures to preserve the lives and safety of civilians," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday. "I would like to stress that strikes are carried out only on military targets and uses exclusively precision weapons."
Ukrainian officials said on Monday 352 civilians have been killed in the Russian invasion, including 16 children, while the United Nations has claimed 520,000 people have fled the country.
