REVISES HEADLINE, SPOT & LEDE; UPDATES WITH LATEST DEATH TOLL DECLARED BY KHARKIV GOVERNOR; ADDS FURTHER DETAILS BY UKRAINE'S STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – The death toll from a Russian airstrike on a hypermarket in Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday rose to 16, local authorities said on Sunday.
"Unfortunately, 16 people have died. The data is being updated," Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov wrote on Telegram.
Earlier in the day, Synyehubov said 12 people were killed in the attack, which targeted a local hypermarket and damaged a furniture store and a shopping center. He claimed that the strike was carried out using two guided bombs.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said it took more than 16 hours to extinguish a fire caused by the strike that spread to more than 13,000 square meters,
Ukraine's State Emergency Service later reported that the number of those injured rose to 44, adding that search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
“There is not a single district or street in Kharkiv that hasn’t suffered from this regular cruelty,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video speech recorded at the remains of a local printing house in Kharkiv that was destroyed in a missile strike on Thursday.
While Ukraine was defending itself 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of the city, Russia was preparing for another offensive 90 kilometers (56 miles) northwest of the city, he said.
Zelenskyy went on to emphasize the importance of global efforts to end the war, specifically the upcoming Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland on June 15-16 and invited his US and Chinese counterparts to attend the event.
He added that the summit would show "who in the world really wants to end the war and not just claim the cease-fire which will inevitably be broken by Russian rockets and artillery just like it was dozens, dozens of times before."
On May 10, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces attempted to breach the country’s defenses in the Kharkiv region, opening a new front in the over two-year-long conflict that is concentrated in the country’s east and south.
Clashes in the region have intensified since then, particularly near Vovchansk, which is located about 74 kilometers (45 miles) from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Russia claims to have seized control of multiple border settlements since the start of its offensive on the Kharkiv front, as well as other fronts including Donetsk.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have claimed that Russia is planning a similar assault in the northeastern Sumy region, which Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied.