Scores Killed and Injured as Russia Hits Supermarket

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

KHARKIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Residents in Ukraine’s second-largest city struggled Sunday with the realities of war after Russia’s military bombed a supermarket, leaving at least 12 people killed and 43 injured.

Kharkiv already saw several attacks, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested to his nation that the latest strike might have been the deadliest so far.

Zelenskyy warned that over 200 people could have been inside Kharkiv’s large Epicentr K home improvement store on the northern outskirts of the city, which officials said was hit by two guided bombs launched by Moscow.

“There were a lot of workers and shoppers inside. Now the fire is on the whole territory,” he added on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Only madmen like [Russian president Vladimir] Putin are capable of killing and terrorizing people in such a vile way,” Zelenskyy wrote.

The embattled Ukrainian leader also urged more support from Western nations to improve Ukraine’s air defense systems.

Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said among the dead were at least two men who worked at the store.

SCORES INJURED

He added that beyond those killed and injured, at least 16 were missing, suggesting that the death toll could rise.

A shocked witness told Worthy News that she saw a “lot of people got hurt. Their lives were taken by the fire from the missile strike.”

Some of the victims “are impossible to identify,” said Julia, a young mother of one who uses one name.

“Police are asking relatives to take DNA tests to identify those killed in the store yesterday,” she confirmed to Worthy News.

Of those injured, at least 39 remained in hospital. “And I learned that a 13-year-old boy was operated on. He is in a serious condition,” Julia said.

She said the city park was also “shelled” but that “luckily, there were no casualties in this beautiful park.”

However, Russia “is causing enormous damage to our city and taking lives. There is not a single quiet day,” she noticed. “Our children study in kindergartens and schools at underground metro stations.”

MUCH SMOKE

She spoke as footage emerged of a firefighter and a man standing in front of a burning store, with smoke flowing into the sky above this city of 1 million people.

“Black smoke from the fire was visible in all parts of the city, even from our window. Cars in the parking lot near the store were damaged,” Julia recalled.

As Kharkiv residents woke up Sunday, they faced more uncertainty, with officials saying “many people are missing” after the superstore was struck.

Kharkiv’s Mayor, Ihor Terekhov, cited the store’s owner as saying that “approximately 200 people” were in the building at the time of the strikes.

“We have a large number of people missing. There are many wounded,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram. “Apparently, the attack was on a shopping center where many people were. This is pure terrorism.”

A separate strike on a residential area in central Kharkiv also injured eight people on Saturday, Terekhov said.

Russia launched a fresh ground offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, which includes the city with the same name, on May 10. It has captured several villages, forcing thousands to flee their homes.

GAINING GROUND

The city of Kharkiv also saw other strikes, including Thursday, when seven residents were killed when Russia struck a printing plant.

Russian forces have been gaining ground in recent weeks, with Ukraine’s outnumbered army struggling to push them back.

Moscow launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a war that has killed and injured hundreds of thousands.

Neighboring Hungary and some other countries have urged both sides to launch peace talks, saying Kyiv “can’t win this war.”

Zelenskyy demands, however, that Russian troops leave from Ukraine and return all occupied territories, including the Crimea Peninsula that Russia captured in 2014.

Moscow has refused to withdraw from its annexed territories, saying most people voted for joining Russia in referendums.

The West views these votes as “Illegitimate” and also demands that Russia’s military leave Ukraine.

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