Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv sparks ‘river of fire’

Ukraine said it destroyed most of the 45 attack drones launched by Russia overnight, with little damage reported on Sunday.

The announcement comes a day after authorities announced seven killed in a Russian attack that set a petrol station ablaze in Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv.

“The occupiers launched 45 attack drones ... As a result of combat, 40 enemy Shahed (UAV) were destroyed,” the Ukrainian air force said on Telegram.

Falling debris lightly wounded a man, 39, in the southern region of Dnipro, governor Sergiy Lysak said.

Aerial guided bombs targeted the village of Vodyane, in the Kharkiv region, killing a 56-year-old woman, Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov said.

The day before, his region had seen seven killed after a Russian drone attack hit a petrol station, spilling burning fuel down the street. Fuel from the petrol station quickly spread through the street, burning some residents alive and injuring others. “In five minutes we had a river of fire. We had to run away from home,” said

Oleskandr Lagutin, who was injured in the attack. Authorities said the fire killed a couple and a family of five.

“My mother-in-law called and said it was burning,” said Natalia, a relative of the deceased couple. “She called back and started screaming that it had spread to the house. We heard the last screams and that was it,” she said.

Synegubov said the dead family included the parents and their 7-year-old, 4-year-old and 7-month-old boys.

The mother had sought shelter with her boys in the bathroom, while the man’s body was found in a passage of the house, he said.

“These children were killed as a result of Russian madness,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

About 3 800 tons of fuel were stored in the oil depot that was hit.

“The whole street turned into a hellish molten mass ... the fuel mixed with the snow and started to burn, houses along the street started to catch fire,” the authorities said. At least 50 people were evacuated.

AFP