A Russian ballistic missile struck a residential apartment building in the Kyivskyi district of Kharkiv early on March 7, killing at least seven people, including two children, and injuring ten others. Rescue operations were ongoing as emergency crews continued searching the rubble for possible survivors.
According to investigators, the strike occurred at around 01:35 a.m., when Russian forces launched a missile that hit a five-storey residential building. The impact destroyed an entire entrance section of the building from the first to the fifth floor and triggered a large fire.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported the attack, saying that people were likely trapped beneath the debris. Later updates confirmed a rising number of casualties as rescuers worked at the scene.
As of 08:30 a.m., authorities confirmed seven fatalities and ten injured residents, including three children. Among the dead was a 13-year-old girl, according to Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Emergency services said the search-and-rescue operation remains ongoing, with the possibility that up to 11 people may still be trapped under the rubble of the heavily damaged building. During firefighting efforts, a wall between two entrances of the partially destroyed structure collapsed, further complicating rescue work.
Rescuers have been gradually recovering victims from the debris. Terekhov reported several discoveries during the operation, including the bodies of a man and a young boy among those killed.
"During the nighttime attack on the city, a primary school teacher from Lyceum No. 6 and her son, a second-grade student, were killed in their home. An eighth-grade student from Lyceum No. 16 was also killed together with her mother. Deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all those who lost their lives tonight. Search and rescue operations at the site of the strike on the residential building are ongoing," wrote Terekhov.
Preliminary information suggests that Russian forces used an “Izdeliye-30” missile in the attack. Authorities said information about casualties and the scale of destruction continues to be updated as emergency crews work at the site.
