Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said that the attack on Ukraine’s second most populated city Kharkiv by Russia was a “war crime”, AFP reported.
“Nobody will forgive,” Zelensky said in a video statement. “Nobody will forget...This is state terrorism of the Russian Federation.”
He added that defending the capital city of Kyiv was a top priority for Ukraine now.
Russia’s military operation in Ukraine continued for the sixth day on Tuesday as missiles and rockets hit Kharkiv. Satellite images also showed a 64-kilometre-long convoy of Russian army vehicles lined up around the northern part of Kyiv.
Videos shared on social media showed shelling on Kharkiv’s central square and rockets hitting at a local government building. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the “barbaric Russian missile strike” and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “murdering innocent civilians”.
An Indian student was killed due to shelling in Kharkiv on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The student was identified as Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar of Karnataka. An estimated 2,000-5,000 Indian students are still stranded in Kharkiv.
In Tuesday’s video message, Zelensky said that the city of Kharkiv and Kyiv were Russia’s major targets.
“The terror aims to break us and break our resistance,” he added. “They advance on the capital in the same way as on Kharkiv. This is why the defence of the capital today is the key priority for the state.”
Earlier today, British intelligence said that Russian forces have increased their use of artillery in northern Kyiv areas and in the vicinity of Kharkiv and Chernihiv.
“The use of heavy artillery in densely populated urban areas greatly increases the risk of civilian casualties,” an update from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence said.
On February 28, at least 11 civilians were killed in Russian strikes on the city, according to Kharkiv’s regional governor Oleg Sinegubov. He had said that Moscow was dropping bombs on residential areas.
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