Russia Launches Devastating Cluster Missile Strikes on Ukraine's Kharkiv, Killing Two and Wounding Over 100
Russian forces escalated attacks across Ukraine on Good Friday, employing advanced ballistic missiles with cluster munitions against civilian areas in Kharkiv and other cities, raising international alarm about a new phase in the conflict.
A barrage of Russian missiles struck Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv on Friday morning, killing one person and wounding at least 112 others, including nine children, in what Ukrainian officials describe as another deliberate attack on civilian infrastructure. A separate drone strike on Sumy hit a bakery preparing Easter cakes, killing one person and injuring another, as Moscow continues its campaign despite recent ceasefire discussions.
Devastating Impact on Civilian Infrastructure
The assault on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, began early Friday morning around 5 a.m. local time when curfews normally end and residents begin their day. According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, the attack damaged 21 apartment buildings, two schools, two kindergartens, a children's arts center, and a garment factory where the strike sparked a fire.
"According to preliminary information, the strikes on Kharkiv were carried out by ballistic missiles with cluster munitions. That is why the affected areas are very large," Terekhov said in a statement shared on Telegram France241.
The human toll was devastating. Ukraine's emergency services reported that the attack in Kharkiv injured 57 people initially, with numbers later rising to 112 wounded, including nine children. Among the children injured were those as young as three and four years old Al Jazeera2.
"Everything went flying in all rooms, the windows shattered," said Inna Khrystych, a Kharkiv resident whose husband died in the attack. "My husband died," she told reporters at the scene Reuters3.
Another resident, Andriy Ponomarenko, described how he and his wife were awakened by the strike and rushed to find their four-year-old daughter amid the smoke and shattered glass. "We first thought the blood was mine but turned out she got a cut by her eye," he recounted Reuters3.
Ukrainian officials reported that more than 5,000 windows were shattered in the attack, leaving many residents without adequate shelter as temperatures remain cool in the northeastern region.
Expanding Attack Pattern and Advanced Weaponry
Friday's assault represents the third consecutive attack in which Russia has deployed ballistic missiles with cluster munitions against civilian areas in Ukraine. Last weekend's attack on Sumy on Palm Sunday killed 35 people, while a strike on Kryvyi Rih the previous week resulted in 20 deaths Politico4.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Russia launched four missiles at Kharkiv, three of them ballistic and carrying cluster warheads. "Russia is a terror machine. It will only stop if we confront it with true strength," Sybiha added Reuters3.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later confirmed that advanced Iskander missiles had been used in the attack. "This is how Russia began this Good Friday with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, Shaheds maiming our people and cities," Zelenskyy wrote on X Reuters3.
The attacks were not limited to Kharkiv and Sumy. Al Jazeera's correspondent Zein Basravi reported from Kyiv that Russia also targeted Lviv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv with "multiple missile, drone, artillery, and rocket attacks" Al Jazeera2.
Global Reactions and Deteriorating Peace Efforts
The latest attacks come at a critical juncture in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking after meeting with European and Ukrainian leaders in Paris on Thursday, indicated that President Donald Trump's administration might abandon peace negotiations unless progress is made quickly.
"We need to figure out here now within a matter of days whether this is doable in the short term, because if it's not, then I think we're just going to move on," Rubio told reporters at Le Bourget airport France241.
The timing of the attacks is significant, occurring during Easter weekend for many Christians. In Sumy, the drone strike specifically targeted a bakery that was preparing Easter cakes, an act that Ukrainian officials characterized as deliberately targeting civilian and cultural institutions.
Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a U.S.-brokered moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure last month, but both sides have accused each other of violations. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the 30-day moratorium had "expired."
"The month has indeed expired. As of this time, there have been no other instructions from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Putin," Peskov said France241.
Expert Insights on Escalation Strategy
Military analysts see Russia's increased use of cluster munitions in populated areas as a deliberate strategy to maximize civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. Cluster munitions scatter smaller bomblets over a wide area, increasing the potential for civilian harm and leaving dangerous unexploded ordnance.
The Russian defense ministry claimed the attack was targeting the sites of drone launchers Politico4, but Ukrainian officials and international observers have consistently noted that the pattern of strikes indicates deliberate targeting of civilian areas.
Zelenskyy said on Thursday that although Russia had reduced the number of its strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities following the moratorium, it was now increasingly attacking civilian infrastructure instead. The total number of missiles and drones launched at Ukraine remains unchanged from before the agreement Reuters3.
The conflict has also taken on wider geopolitical dimensions, with Zelenskyy recently accusing China of providing weapons to Russia. Ukraine announced sanctions against three Chinese companies in response to these allegations Al Jazeera2.
Future Implications of Continued Escalation
The attacks on Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities signal a concerning trajectory in the conflict. With the expiration of the limited moratorium on energy infrastructure strikes, experts warn that Russia may soon return to targeting Ukraine's power grid as the country heads toward another potentially difficult winter.
President Zelenskyy has already warned that Russia is preparing more strikes over the Easter weekend, specifically targeting the country's energy infrastructure Politico4.
Moscow has also issued warnings about potential escalation if Germany proceeds with plans to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine. Speaking at the United Nations on Thursday, Russia's ambassador Vassily Nebenzia declared that such a move would mark Germany's direct entry into the war Al Jazeera2.
For civilians in Kharkiv and other frontline cities, the immediate future remains precarious. According to police reports, more than 500 people in Kharkiv lost their homes in Friday's attack alone Politico4, adding to the humanitarian crisis in a region that has endured persistent bombardment.
A Devastating Pattern Continues
As rescue workers sift through damaged buildings and medical teams tend to the wounded in Kharkiv and Sumy, the latest Russian missile attacks represent another grim chapter in Ukraine's ongoing struggle. With peace negotiations faltering, international support wavering, and Russia deploying increasingly destructive weapons against civilian targets, the question remains: Can diplomatic efforts overcome the cycle of escalation, or will Ukraine face an even more devastating phase of conflict in the months ahead?
