Two people were reported killed, and more than 30 were injured in a spate of Russian airstrikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Industrial and civilian targets were hit in the spate of strikes that raised the tempo of the conflict across the region.

Twenty-eight people were injured in two strikes in the industrial district of this city, reported Oleh Synyehubov, Governor of the Kharkiv region. “Of those injured, 17 have been hospitalized, including a 16-year-old boy,” he wrote on Telegram. Three of the hospitalized individuals are in serious condition, with search and rescue operations continuing to locate more victims.

Synyehubov stated that seven guiding bombs and two drones were used in the attack on Kharkiv. Later in the day, he reported, there was a strike in the Kyivskyi district, killing two and injuring several others. “In total, four guided bombs were used in the attacks,” he said.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the first airstrike targeted a civilian enterprise, with fire engulfing most of its area. Damage is not limited to an industrial zone, including vast destruction as well as terror among the residents of this region.

So far, no statements regarding Kyiv’s accusations about the airstrikes from the Russian side have been received.

In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, intense airstrikes and shelling have been a familiar refrain since February, when fighting began with Russia. But in the last week, as Russian forces have pushed across north-eastern Ukraine, the town has become a key battlefront. The intensified assault since early May is part of a broader attempt to breach Ukraine’s defenses and open a new front in a war that, until recently, had been confined to eastern and southern parts of the country.

Indeed, the recurring conflict has continued now for over two years, targeting the strategic city of Kharkiv every time a need arises. The latest wave of strikes shows that the situation in the region continues to be unstable and dangerous to civilians as the warring sides try to find a suitable edge ahead of long-term military engagements.

To date, the full extent of the damage caused by the attacks is not specified. Still, the government of Ukraine has continued to inform the public of the situation and the recovery process being carried out by the rescue teams.

Ukrainian officials criticized the attacks as a part of a larger Russian strategy to destabilize the crucial cities and break down the civilian moral framework. The bombing in Kharkiv occurred at a time when there were approaches to trying to bring peace at the international level, but so far, no concrete progress has been noted in recent meetings. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to call for more robust global support and said the international community must increase its sanctions against Russia while offering increased military defense to Ukraine. 

As the conflict continues, humanitarian situations in Kharkiv and other areas that have had to endure intense targeting worsen due to the inability of local authorities to cope with an ever-swelling number of displaced persons and injured civilians.