"There are direct hits on multi-storey buildings, private houses, playgrounds, enterprises and public transport," Terekhov said on Telegram. Fire erupted in 15 apartments of the five-story building, and extensive damage was reported throughout the northeastern city near the Russian border.

Children Among the Injured
Nine people had been hospitalized with injuries, including a 2-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said in a statement. He also noted that drone strikes hit a trolleybus depot in the city and residential buildings, further threatening homes and infrastructure.

The Ukrainian military said that a total of 85 drones were sent by Russia overnight, with 40 shot down. It also observed that nine drones had either been electronically intercepted or were probably empty shells without warheads.

Wider Assaults Across Ukraine
According to the military, the drone strikes were largely concentrated on the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Odesa regions. The attacks come on top of a major ramping up of Russia's military activity since what Moscow said were retaliatory attacks to Ukrainian operations on Russian territory. Russia has not officially responded to the latest Kharkiv attack.

Kharkiv, which in the early days of the 2022 invasion braved Russian capture, has come under relentless attack by missiles, drones and aerial bombs in the last few months.

Russia Says It Intercepted Ukrainian Drones
In turn, Russia's defense ministry said that its air defenses had shot down 32 Ukrainian drones during the night. It said 16 were shot over the southern Voronezh region and the others were shot down over Kursk, Tambov, Rostov and the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Though both sides deny targeting civilians, the war, now in its third year, has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, the majority of them Ukrainians.

"We are holding on. We are helping each other. We shall live through it, and definitely survive," said Mayor Terekhov. "Kharkiv is Ukraine. And it cannot be broken."