Four injured in Russian shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine officials say

KYIV (Reuters) – Four people were injured in fresh Russian attacks on the battered city of Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

A man and three women were injured in shelling by Russian forces early on Tuesday, Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which Kharkiv city is the administrative centre, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Sinehubov said that Russia attacked Ukraine’s second largest city with its new UMPB D-30 bombs, Soviet-era retrofitted high-precision guided bombs that behave like a cruise missile.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

Both Ukraine and Russia say they do not target civilians in the war which erupted when Russia invaded its smaller neighbour in February of 2022, which Moscow has called a “special military operation”.

The war, which has killed many thousands, displaced millions and turned some Ukrainian cities into rubble, has no end in sight.

In recent days, Russia has been pressing with its ground assault into the north of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, attacking new areas with small groups to try to widen the front and stretch Ukrainian forces, Ukraine said.