Moscow Intensifies Attacks as Strike Kills Three in Kharkiv Region
BALAKLIYA, Ukraine – A Russian missile strike on the town of Balakliya in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region killed at least three people and injured 11 others on Monday, local authorities reported. Four of the injured are minors,aged between 12 and 17.
The attack, which struck residential high-rise buildings and nearby vehicles, comes as Russian forces intensify their offensive in eastern Kharkiv, a renewed push this year following the town’s liberation in autumn 2022 after initial occupation early in the full-scale invasion. The strikes underscore a pattern of escalating Russian attacks targeting Ukrainian cities and infrastructure as Kyiv’s forces work to defend against a Russian battlefield advance focused on the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk.
Elsewhere overnight, Russian drones targeted the Odesa region, causing damage to energy and port infrastructure across multiple cities, according to administration head Oleh Kiper. Fires broke out, and an unspecified number of civilian vessels were damaged. One person was injured in the Odesa attacks, Kiper said.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 128 strike and decoy drones across the country. Air defenses successfully intercepted and jammed 91 drones, while 32 reached their targets. These combined missile and drone strikes are increasingly focused on Ukraine’s power grid and urban centers.
Balakliya is located approximately 60 kilometers from the frontline.
