Russia ramps up attacks on Kharkiv

Russia strikes on civilian buildings have upset Kharkiv's return to normalcy.

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Olga Bidenko was in bed asleep when an explosion shook her apartment building and the walls and ceiling collapsed on top of her.

Emergency workers dug her out and she sat on the sidewalk on Sunday morning, wincing as a friend used tweezers to remove fragments from her ankle.

Half the residential building was flattened in the attack, which police said was likely the result of a missile launched from Russian territory at 11 p.m. Saturday.

Russian forces have ramped up attacks in and around Kharkiv city in recent days, destroying buildings, killing and injuring civilians, and putting the city on edge.

The increased missile, rocket and artillery barrages are a step back for Ukraine’s second-biggest centre, which appeared to be returning to normalcy only a month ago.

“The whole region of Kharkiv is under shelling,” said Oleksandr Volobuyev, head of the State Emergency Service of Kharkiv, after visiting the site of an attack Friday at a sports complex.

“And unfortunately, we have an increased number of shellings, and an increased number of people who have died, civilians, and we have kids who have died,” he said.

A missile also hit an apartment in Kyiv on Sunday morning, killing one person.