Municipal service workers stand near a crater following an overnight missile strike in Kharkiv on August 29
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)At least four people have been killed in shelling of Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv on Tuesday.
The regional governor of the city said at least four were killed and four have been wounded in Russian shelling of the city.
“As a result of the shelling of the central part of Kharkiv, at least 4 people died and 4 more were injured,” Oleh Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.
According to early reports, the missile strikes landed on a central part of the city, hitting a public park, kindergarten and area near to a hospital.
The city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said that after the shelling a fire broke out in a residential building, meaning the number of victims could increase. He did not confirm the nature of the buildings hit by the missiles.
Maria Avdeeva, research director at the European Expert Association in Ukraine, said: “Daytime brutal artillery attack on central part of Kharkiv. 5 people killed, 9 injured.
“Missiles hit the recreation park, where people were sunbathing, kindergarten and area near the hospital.”
Russian shelling has also hit residential areas of the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, killing two people and destroying homes, according to city officials.
Witnesses reported that the strike hit a home directly next to a school, killing a woman.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has urged Russian troops to flee for their lives as his forces launched an offensive near the occupied city of Kherson, saying Ukraine’s military were taking back their territory.
Speaking in his nightly address on Monday, Mr Zelensky vowed that Ukrainian troops would chase the Russian army “to the border".
“If they want to survive - it’s time for the Russian military to run away. Go home," he said.
"Ukraine is taking back its own.”
In an intelligence update on Tuesday, the British Ministry of Defence said: “Ukrainian long-range precision strikes continue to disrupt Russian resupply.
“It is not yet possible to confirm the extent of Ukrainian advances.
“However, since the start of August, Russia has made significant efforts to reinforce its force on the western bank of the Dnipro River around Kherson.”
