Dublin People Group is collaborating with the Ukrainian Center for International Communications Cideips to provide information regarding ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Russian forces carried out deadly overnight strikes on Kharkiv that killed five people, including two children, and left dozens more injured.
The first attack took place in the early hours of this morning when, at around 4:50 a.m., five UAVs were launched at a multi-storey residential building in the city’s Industrial District.
The assault set off a huge blaze that tore through the first, third and fifth floors of the block, spreading across more than 900 square metres.
Authorities confirmed that five residents lost their lives in the strike, among them a one-and-a-half-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy.
Twenty more people sustained injuries of varying severity and were treated at the scene by medical teams.
The impact of the drone strike was felt beyond the targeted building.
Six residential blocks and 15 vehicles were damaged, with images from the scene showing cars reduced to twisted wreckage and homes left in smouldering ruins.
Later the same day, at around 10:50 p.m., Kharkiv was hit again when Russian armed forces launched a missile strike on the same district.
Eleven more people were injured in this second assault, including a 13-year-old child. Over ten multi-storey residential buildings and five parked vehicles were damaged in the blast.
Rescue and emergency teams worked through the night to bring the fires under control and search for survivors.
Firefighters, paramedics, police and volunteers combed through debris in the hope of finding anyone trapped beneath the rubble.
Emergency services have pledged to continue operations until all residents are accounted for.
The twin strikes add to the growing toll of destruction in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which has endured relentless bombardment since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022.
The Industrial District, home to thousands of families, has repeatedly come under fire in recent months.
Residents described a terrifying night of explosions and panic as homes collapsed and fires raged.
Many families were forced to flee into the darkness, clutching what little they could carry, as air raid sirens echoed across the city.
While the full extent of the damage is still being assessed, officials have confirmed widespread devastation.
What remains clear is that ordinary civilians, including children, once again bore the brunt of the strikes.