#russia's missile attack on Kharkiv

[cliozaur]

Today Russia destroyed one of the biggest printing houses in Kharkiv. People were killed. This missile strike is a major setback for Ukraine's publishing industry, which had just begun to recover.

[k-s-morgan]

Just wanted to show one recent example of what Russia has been doing to Ukraine. The city of Kharkiv, with over a million residents, is located close to Russian borders, meaning that it's difficult to defend it from air strikes. Russia has been systematically destroying it and killing its people, intensifying its attacks more and more, using the fact that most Ukrainian allies forbid us from launching our own attacks on Russian territory.

On May 25, Russian sent bombs to a hypermarket in Kharkiv. On a weekend, in the middle of the day.

That same day, it bombed the park. Before that, it hit the rest zone.

And a publishing house.

And the hotel.

And the television tower.

And so on and on. Russia specifically targets public places and areas of life to make Kharkiv a ghost city. To destroy the home of over a million people. Many, many residents are constantly dying from these attacks, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, and other most vulnerable population groups. And Ukraine is unable to hit the locations from which Russia bombs Kharkiv because it's forbidden by our own partners. It's a joke.

And it's just one city. Russian bombs and missiles are erasing towns and villages from existence entirely on a constant basis. I can't even imagine how many people and animals die as a result. It's impossible to comprehend it on a human level. Just like it's impossible to comprehend the world's indifference, where on the one hand, we have support, but on the other hand, this support is limited to not letting us lose quickly. We are under the most cruel restrictions and limitations. And as long as the greed controls the world, which is probably forever, and our partners keep having mutually beneficial relations with Russia, there is no way out of this. Just more deaths, suffering, and misery.

[pterodach]

Since the beginning of the year, more than 700 libraries have been destroyed or damaged in Ukraine.

Russia struck Ukraine’s major printing press, Faktor-Druk in Kharkiv, killing at least 5 employees among the 7 dead & 20 injured. Kharkiv is the heart of Ukraine’s publishing industry. This attack on culture underscores the genocidal nature of Russia’s war. Factor-print was bombed exactly one week before the Book Arsenal (book festival), just when dozens of publishing novelties were being rushed to print. The bombing was aimed at preventing these books from being published, at preventing Ukrainians from having book fairs - for a quarter of a century, the Russians had managed to silence them using other methods, and now that they have started to find their feet, they are using bombs and missiles. And all for the sake of the "great Russian culture". Forcing people to read this literature because of the absence of destroyed Ukrainian literature. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Vivat publishing house (the bookshop belongs to them).

[dontforgetukraine]

The father of 18-year-old Veronika Kozhushko, who was killed on August 30 in a Russian missile attack on Kharkiv, shares his love for her and talks about the work she has done to support the AFU. He also explains, "She became the Executed Renaissance of the 21st century."

There are plans to publish a book of her poems and drawings. I hope there will be an English translation at some point.

Ukraine and the world are losing some of its best and most talented people all because of Russia.

Source: Radio Svoboda

Translation: Anton Gerashchenko

[thyinum]

Kyiv this morning (January the 2nd) was mass shelled by russia with drones and ballistic missiles. I spent all the morning in a storage room that serves as a shelter in my house. Some of the missiles were flying over my head to Kyiv. My friends are saying it was really loud and in some cases debris fell not so far from their homes. There are injured people.

Kharkiv also were under a brutal attack, there are injured and dead.

Happy New Year from a fucking russia.

Don't ever forget that russia is a terrorist state

[lindefishway]

russia hit a residential building in Kharkiv and 15 minutes later they hit it the second time after a rescue mission started.

it's not the first time when russia uses a 'double-tap' tactic in Ukraine to kill not only as many civilians as possible but also first responders. DO NOT BE SILENT ABOUT KHARKIV.

The death toll from the russian missile attacks has risen to 6, with 25 other civilians wounded.

[anoonimthepoorchad]

I really need everyone to work together and get Ukraine to the trending hastags so that everyone can see the results of one of the tonight's russian air raid.

First of all, the air raids began as early as 2 A.M., when everyone was asleep at their homes, including me. There were drone attacks even before that, starting at 9 P.M., but they reached Kyiv around 2 A.M., and the drone danger lasted until 4 A.M. 35 drones were launched by russia and destroyed by our defenses, including Kyiv and other regions. Around that time we already knew that russia had launched guided missiles — long distance missiles that take hours to reach the Ukrainian borders and then can change their direction at any moment, making them unpredictable and hard to shoot down. But we had some time to rest until they came close enough to be dangerous, so everyone tried to get at least a bit more sleep.

Then, at 6 A.M. the real terror began. Guided missiles from one side, more and more were launched after that, and sonic missiles were launched as well. Loud explosions from all sides, debris falling over the city, it was loud and dangerous as hell. An apartment block was hit, a fire caught on because of the damage, civilians had to be evacuated immediately. Debris landed onto streets, around parks, a lioness in the local zoo got contusion from the burst wave of the debris piece landing 300 meters away from her cage. Everyone is receiving medical help, both humans and animals.

Kharkiv city (east of Ukraine) was targeted as well, ballistic missiles hitting the city centre, apartment blocks, targeting civilians and their homes.

The air raid was over at 10 A.M. and by the evening the numbers reached 130 people wounded and 5 people killed in the air raid. In last 5 days russia has launched more than 500 drones and missiles towards Ukraine, targeting civilians. Tonight 99 different types of weaponry was used against people of Ukraine, from sonic ballistic missiles to guided missiles.

Important: all 10 of the sonic missiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defense using Patriot air defense complex. Ukrainian warriors are constantly showcasing perfect aim and usage of the gifted complexes, considering this type of missiles can only be neutralized by the Patriot complex. This shows not only perfect strength and devotion of our fighters, defenders of our people, but also the sheer need of these complexes in order to survive. Sonic missiles reach my city in 3 minutes after being launched thousands of kilometers away, so please, if you can, reach out to your government authorities in order to support our defenses with the needed weaponry.

And a moment of karma for the last: a russian missile, launched towards Ukraine, lost control mid-air and fell down on some village in voronezh oblast of russia. Finally russians got to experience the kind of terror they make us live in, by their own hands. I don't think they'll learn anything by this after all, but I hope for some kind of justice for everyone they've killed.

[o-nexis]

мразоти.

одна ніч. 23 літака. 120 ракет. 90 шахедів.

On the night of November 17, 2024, the ruzzian occupiers carried out a massive combined attack on the energy sector facilities of Ukraine with various types of air-, land-, and sea-based missiles, as well as Shahed-type attack UAVs.

In total, according to preliminary data, the radio engineering troops of the Air Force of Ukraine detected and tracked 210 enemy air targets - 120 missiles and 90 UAVs.

By type:

- 1 hypersonic ship missile 3M22 "Zircon";

- 8 X-47M2 "Kinzhal" air-to-ground missiles;

- 101 cruise missiles X-101, "Kalibr";

- 1 Iskander-M ballistic missile;

- 4 X-22/X-31P cruise/anti-radar missiles;

- 5 X-59/X-69 guided missiles;

- 90 attack UAVs/drones of unspecified type.

The enemy used:

- 7 Tu-160 and 16 Tu-95MS strategic bombers;

- 2 Tu-22M3 long-range bombers;

- 5 Su-34 fighter-bombers;

- 4 Su-27 fighters;

- 10 MiG-31K fighters;

- 4 cruise missile carriers in the air attack.

Throughout the night, all available air defense forces and means were deployed along the route of the missiles and drones. Aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare assets, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force and Defense Forces were involved.

According to preliminary data, as of 12.00, 144 air targets were shot down - 102 missiles and 42 UAVs).

As a result of active counteraction by the Defense Forces, 41 enemy UAVs were lost in different regions of Ukraine, and two more UAVs flew towards Russia and the temporarily occupied territory.

Air defense was active in almost all regions of Ukraine - Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Volyn and Lviv regions.

[aapaww]

Massive missile attack on Ukraine. Today, 12/29/23.

Kharkiv has been under missile attack since 4 am, which cannot be shot down by air defense. More than 20 explosions counted during one of the 4 attacks through the entire period. The number of victims is unknown.

Odesa, missiles hit 3 residential buildings. The number of victims is unknown.

Lviv, hit an apartment building and school. The number of victims is unknown.

Dnipro, missiles hit a shopping center and a maternity hospital. The number of victims is unknown.

Kyiv, many missile fragments exploded, hitting residential buildings and yards. During this period, more than 15 people there were injured.

And that's not all the cities.

Some people are being searched under the rubble of destroyed buildings. It is already known about dead people in many cities, but number of them is unknown by now.

russia used about 7 different types of weapons. The attack lasted from midnight on 12/28/23 until this moment.

russia is a scum.

You can help people who suffered in this terrible war. Here's some funds for help:

[faelorelia]

Can we please stop downplaying the struggle of one suffering people to show support for another?

My heart breaks at the atrocious news of Israel demolishing Palestine and the suffering of its people. And as a Ukrainian from Kharkiv, which Russia is desperately trying to wipe off the face of the earth, it also breaks my heart to see people claim that what’s happening in Ukraine isn’t enough to call it what it is – a genocide. How many more Ukrainians need to die for these people to acknowledge the reality of Russia’s actions? Are the destroyed Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages not enough? Must our entire country be in flames before they recognize Russia’s actions in Ukraine as genocide?

We, Ukrainians, are often perceived as either too “privileged” because we receive some humanitarian and military support, or not significant enough to garner widespread concern. If the same thing were happening in a Western European country, immediate action would be taken. Yet, we’re just Ukrainians, and it seems we matter less. Additionally, our struggle is constantly compared to that of Palestinians, and we’re criticized for seeking continued support.

Claiming that Ukrainians suffer “less” does nothing to help Palestinians. How is accusing us of trying to live our lives while missiles and drones are headed our way considered activism? There must be a better way to support one oppressed nation without minimizing the struggles of another.

People call out others for going to Starbucks but purchase from companies still operating in Russia. They hold Israelis accountable but welcome Russians, claiming they aren’t responsible for their government’s actions. They shout “Free Palestine” but ask Ukrainians to lay down arms and “make peace with Russia”. They boycott movies and series where actors condemned the Hamas attack on Israel but celebrate Russian filmmakers. They condemn the Israeli army for burning Palestinian books but continue to read Russian literature, claiming it’s beyond politics.

This world’s hypocrisy and attempts to blame victims and justify aggressors are disheartening. Supporting one oppressed nation should not mean diminishing the struggles of another. It’s not obligatory to show support for every oppressed nation in the world, but using one’s suffering to undermine the significance of another’s is harmful.

Keep supporting Palestine, keep donating, and raising your voices for them because their lives matter and they need all the help they can get. But do NOT drag Ukrainians down, deny the genocide we experience daily, or question our right to fight for our existence as a free nation. Do not let Russia destroy us completely. There’s still time, and the least you can do is not give our aggressor any advantage. Stand with justice. Stand with Ukraine. Do better.

[mariacallous]

This is dated 12-29-2023, for the record.

It was a nightmare scenario that Ukrainian and Western officials had feared for months. Western officials have watched as Russia stacked up precision-guided munitions to launch targeted attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure in the winter while keeping up the pace of strikes on cities using unguided “dumb” bombs. 

And on Friday morning, it became a reality. Russia conducted a hailstorm of strikes across Ukraine, hitting Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Kharkiv. There were at least 158 drone and missile strikes in all, which damaged hospitals, a shopping mall, and schools, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 160. 

The numbers are still going up as search and rescue teams pick through the rubble. Russia fired its missiles with so much abandon that the Polish government confirmed one of the Kremlin’s projectiles entered its airspace. In the chaos that engulfed the Kyiv streets, one man tried to stop the fires from spreading by driving his burning car away from his neighbors. 

The renewed barrages have Ukrainian officials and U.S. experts questioning how long they’ll be able to keep the lights on during winter—or hold territory—especially with the long tail of U.S. military aid running out, unless Congress acts soon. 

Ukrainian officials believe that Russia’s capacity to strike is even greater than what it just showed off: The Kremlin can fire off about 300 Iranian-made suicide drones in one attack on Ukraine and about 150 ballistic missiles in one shot on Kyiv, said Sasha Ustinova, a Ukrainian lawmaker.  

And with the Ukrainian counteroffensive stalled and fresh weapons not flowing until January at the earliest, how resilient will the Ukrainians be? 

“The Ukrainians are heading for a tough winter, for obvious reasons,” Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview earlier this month. “But I think that the Ukrainian morale is much, much higher than the Russian morale. What is crucial right now, of course, is that we all will step up support.”

But that morale is now getting tested, as Ukrainians were shaken out of bed by dozens of air raid alerts that lit up their phones. And the aid isn’t coming—at least until the U.S. Congress gets back from recess in the second week of January, and maybe for even longer. 

“Ukraine needs funding now to continue to fight for freedom from such horror in 2024,” Bridget Brink, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, wrote in a tweet screenshotting the numerous air raid alerts sent to Kyiv residents.

U.S. officials have seen movement across the nearly stagnant front lines slow considerably in recent weeks, a trend that is expected to continue. The weather in Ukraine has hit subzero temperatures and piles of snow have mostly halted forward movement along the 600-mile front, underscoring the prospect of several months of attrition warfare. Ukraine is already making moves to lower the draft age to get more men onto the battlefield.  

Ukraine doesn’t need any silver bullets, experts say. It just needs the regular kind. 

“We’re clearly past the ground counteroffensive now,” said Peter Rough, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. “Since it won’t get large numbers of longer-range precision fires, Ukraine probably needs to entrench and defend right now—and absent Congress passing the supplemental, even those defensive lines may not remain stable.” 

Still, Jonson said the Ukrainian military has been getting some access to more long-range strike weapons, which has forced Russian ships and aircraft to move farther away from the front lines. But Ukraine has had to build its military while fending off the invasion: Jonson said that Kyiv is operating about 600 types of Western weapons systems, while ferrying fuel and spare parts across the front line. All that on roads that will be coated with sleet, snow, and ice. 

Even with its limited arsenal of Western-provided long-range weapons like British-made Storm Shadows and the cluster variant of the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System, Ukraine has still made a dent, knocking out a Russian tank landing ship in Crimea on Tuesday. And experts believe that Russia’s fragile logistics system—which was never designed for continuous military operations across Europe’s second-largest country—is a good target.  

“If they had longer-range weapons, they could completely wreck the logistics system,” said Ben Hodges, the former head of U.S. Army Europe. “I think they know this is a real vulnerability for the Russians, particularly in winter.” 

But Ukrainians fear they are already running out of munitions—and time. Though Western-provided air defenses blanket much of Kyiv, they are not enough to defend against far-flung Russian attacks that could dot the country during winter. As much as Ukraine needs more air defenses to blunt attacks like Friday’s firestorm, Ukrainian officials have indicated that the falling temperatures have already shifted their priorities: Attrition warfare means a premium on artillery fire, and Europe is far behind on its target to produce a million artillery shells by March 2024.

“The biggest problem we’re going to run into is when they start shelling us heavily,” Ustinova said. “Because we will not have enough munitions.” 

But Ukraine has been forced to cut military operations as aid has dried up. Ukrainian Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who heads up a group of forces in the southern push, told the BBC this week that Ukraine is facing particularly acute shortages of Soviet-era 122 mm and 152 mm shells, which still make up a large portion of Kyiv’s military arsenal. And if the Ukrainians want to apply forward pressure in spite of the snow, they have to clear entire minefields in front of them, only for the Russians to reseed the deadly explosives from the air. 

The Russian war chest is still heavily stocked. Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian defense minister, said in November that Russia still has about 7,000 to 8,000 tanks in reserve. Meanwhile, Russia has turned its sanctions-battered economy into a war economy. The Kremlin plans to spend 6 percent of GDP on defense next year. And Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deals for drones with Iran and ammunition with North Korea have indicated to Western officials that Russia’s game is quantity, not quality. 

“It doesn’t matter. As long as it fires, as long as it unfortunately kills Ukrainians, it is good for Russians,” Pevkur said. “They are increasing their production, especially ammunition. They don’t care about the quality. They care about the quantity.” 

Western officials believe that there are 300,000 to 400,000 Russian troops on Ukrainian soil, across a swath of occupied territory that is about the size of the contiguous Baltic states. Russian casualties have totaled about that many troops in the 22 months since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion began. But experts caution that the cannon fodder won’t last forever. It might not have to last that much longer, though.

In November, Russian forces claimed to gain ground around the eastern city of Avdiivka, where Western officials believe the Kremlin is trying to make a pincer move to encircle the town, the site of a major coke fuel and chemical plant. They’ve also set their sights on the important railway junction of Kupyansk. 

“They just keep pushing these guys into a meat grinder to convey the sense that they have endless resources,” Hodges said. “They don’t have endless resources.” 

For now, though, absent Western aid, Russia’s focus on eastern Ukraine could lead Kyiv to cede more ground. 

“That’s very painful for us, because we pay thousands of lives to get every single kilometer,” Ustinova said.  

“They are already taking more territory,” she added. “Look at the map.”

[panimoonchild]

In the democratic world is "Never again", in the Russian world - "We can and will proudly repeat"

Attacked electricity generation and transmission facilities in Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia regions.

I urgently recommend you to watch Zelenskyy's speech. I was literally crying from the start. I even downloaded video but Tumblr once again crushed for me. I'm sorry.

Back to modern time.

At night, Russians attacked three DTEK thermal power plants. The equipment was seriously damaged.

This is the fifth massive shelling of the company's energy facilities in the last month and a half.

In the Kyiv region, 13 private buildings were destroyed and damaged as a result of the night shelling. Debris fell in four districts of the region.

In the Lviv region, the occupiers attacked a gas storage facility in Stryi district and a thermal power plant in Chervonohrad district.

An 8-year-old child was injured in Kirovohrad region. A critical infrastructure facility was damaged in the region, and 13 houses were destroyed.

At night, on May 8, at 02:42, in Kharkiv, air defense forces shot down two Shaheds in the northern part of the city. No damage and no casualties - HOVA.

About 15 settlements of the Kharkiv region were hit by enemy artillery and mortar attacks: Sinkivka, Stepova Novoselivka, Berestove, and others. Dvorichanske and Sinkivka came under aerial bombardment.

17:00 с. Kucherivka, Kupyansk district. A private house was burning as a result of the shelling.

May 7, 09:30 a.m. Cherkaski Tyshky, Kharkiv district. The roofs of two private houses were damaged as a result of hostile shelling.

Ukrainian troops repelled 16 attacks in the Kupyansk sector over the last day, including in the areas of Sinkivka, Pishchane, and Berestove in Kharkiv region.

The Ukrainian Air Force destroyed 39/55 missiles and 20/21 UAVs:

▪️ 0/1 X-47M2 Kinzhal aerial ballistic missiles;

▪️ 0/2 Iskander-M ballistic missiles;

▪️ 4/4 Kalibr cruise missiles;

▪️ 33/45 X-101/X-555 cruise missiles;

▪️ 0/1 Iskander-K cruise missiles;

▪️ 2/2 X-59/X-69 guided missiles;

▪️ 20/21 Shahed-131/136 strike UAVs.

Thanks to the Air Force, I woke up today. And I even had the luxury of not having to go to the corridor, even though my region was under attack.

Back to World War II.

Photos from AFUStratCom.

#Mordor On this day in 1941, representatives of the Allied Wehrmacht were invited to a parade in Moscow. World War II had been going on for 1 year and 8 months.

Modern time:

On this day in 2014, Ukrainian miners spoke about the torture of the Russian occupiers in Donetsk and showed a tattoo that was almost cut off by a light bulb.

Russia never changed. Russia never learned.

Total victory and liberation of Ukraine is the only possible scenario for peace.

[valerysweetsstudio]

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, but …

On Christmas, I want to be with my family and friends. We want only pleasant miracles to happen on this day…. But for Ukrainians, the festive Christmas atmosphere in Ukraine echoes the horrific realities of war. Not only does Russia dilute Christmas for the Ukrainian military at the front, but also for civilians. Russia attacked on Christmas Day with drones and missiles. Ukrainian cities such as Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, and Ivano-Frankivsk were attacked with missiles. Instead of just celebrating Christmas, people are recovering from the Russian attack. Residential buildings and electrical infrastructure have been damaged, and people have even lost their lives. Power cuts were planned across Ukraine, and some cities were completely blacked out due to the missile attacks.

[dontforgetukraine]

Kryvyi Rih bids farewell to Olena Kulyk and her three children: 10-year-old Kyrylo, 2-year-old Demyd and 2-month-old Ulyana. Russian forces attacked #KryvyiRih with a missile on the morning of Nov. 11 and destroyed part of a five-storey residential building. 14 people, including children, were injured. Russia continues to kill Ukrainians daily. The occupiers do not care whether they shoot a Ukrainian defender who surrendered on the battlefield or kill three innocent children right in their room... —Denys from Kharkiv

Source: svoiKR/Telegram

[misfitwashere]

How do you think the people of Odesa, Kharkiv, and Kherson Oblast feel about the Russian attacks?

People of Odesa, Kharkiv, and Kherson oblast have to live through the Russian attacks every day, knowing that someone else might die tomorrow — and it could be them.

“We are having coffees next to ruins. Living next to death,” writes Kate from Kharkiv.

“We are all mortals, I get it. Yet having every little bit of control over your life and safety taken away from you and handed to your enemies is different level entirely,” she explains.

What they wish for is to no longer needing to be “resilient”.

“I dream of never being called resilient again. I want my life back, and to live it, not being patted on the back for how well I take a hit,” writes Kate.

And it’s not only the Russian missile attacks that hit them — but also attacks online.

”As a Ukrainian online, I cannot post a single thing about my life without provoking hateful comments from one group or another. People seem to have conflicting expectations about our lives at war, and we're bound to fail those expectations because they are so polarized.

The strangest and most bizarre kind of hate is the one we receive for experiencing happy moments once in a while, or even just for living a simple life not connected to the war. It doesn’t matter if it's a picture of a coffee, or just a simple smiley face we post — whenever we dare to crawl out of the death pit to take a breath, someone is angry.

This post is here to make you think about why that is.

Why are Ukrainians held to these standards? Are we supposed to be poor and sad but not broken, convincing but not demanding, navigating thousands of expectations all at once, one of which, apparently, is to be miserable non-stop?”

Living under the constant threat of Russian attacks is exhausting. But people still live and work in Odesa, Kharkiv and Kherson — and they smile and laugh, too.

There is one thing though that the residents of Ukraine don’t understand — why aren’t Ukrainians allowed to strike Russia back?

It would only be fair.

[felddergelbenhyazinthen]

Ukraine, Kharkiv.

Child hides in a bathtub from russian missiles as mother waits for doctors after her face and legs were cut by broken glass.

(russia launched 99 missiles of various types and 35 attack drones over Ukraine during the night and morning on the 2nd of January, 2024).