Russian drone strikes injure 32 in Kharkiv as winter attacks intensify

Wednesday 19 November 2025 - 07:00

By: Sahili Aya

Russian drone strikes injure 32 in Kharkiv as winter attacks intensify

At least 32 people were injured, including two children, after an overnight Russian drone strike hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, regional authorities reported early Wednesday. It was the third attack on the region in as many days, highlighting Moscow’s renewed push to weaken Ukraine’s defenses ahead of winter.

Governor Oleg Synegubov said the strikes wounded a 9-year-old girl, a 13-year-old, and an 18-year-old woman, with six people requiring hospital care. The attack triggered fires in residential buildings and damaged vehicles, garages, and a supermarket in the Slobidsky and Osnoviansky districts.

Emergency services evacuated 48 people, including three children, from a high-rise building engulfed in smoke, according to spokesman Yevgen Vasylenko.

Russia has increasingly targeted energy infrastructure in recent months, repeating a strategy used earlier in the war to pressure Ukrainian civilians during the colder months. In October, Moscow launched its largest wave of strikes on gas facilities since the 2022 invasion.

As Ukraine braces for another harsh winter, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is touring European capitals to secure additional support for both the military front and the country’s strained energy grid. Ukrainian forces, exhausted and outnumbered, are under mounting pressure as Russian troops advance in the east, capturing two more villages on Tuesday.