Death toll from Russian airstrike on hypermarket in Ukraine’s Kharkiv rises to 19

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The death toll from a Russian airstrike on a hypermarket in Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv last weekend rose to 19, local authorities said on Wednesday.

“19 people died. 54 were injured. We will not forgive. Eternal memory of the dead. Condolences to family and friends,” Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram.

The airstrike on Saturday, which was carried out using two guided bombs according to Synyehubov, targeted a local hypermarket and damaged a furniture store and a shopping center.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said a day later that it took more than 16 hours to extinguish a fire caused by the strike that spread to more than 13,000 square meters (around 140,000 square feet).

“If Ukraine had sufficient air defense systems and modern combat aircraft, Russian strikes like this one would have been impossible,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X on the day of the airstrike.

He also described the airstrike as “another example of Russian madness.”

Russian authorities did not comment on the airstrike.​​​​​​​