Russia pounds Kharkiv with missiles, drones in retaliation for Ukrainian strike, 3 dead | All you need to know

A major Russian drone and missile assault struck the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday, resulting in at least three deaths and 21 injuries, according to local Ukrainian officials.

The strike was part of Moscow’s ongoing near-daily bombardments and included the use of lethal aerial glide bombs, which have become a prominent feature of Russia’s intensified offensive in the three-year-long conflict, as reported by the Associated Press.

Kharkiv’s mayor Ihor Terekhov said the attack also damaged 18 apartment buildings and 13 private homes. Citing preliminary data, he said Russia used 48 Shahed drones, two missiles and four aerial glide bombs in the attack.

The intensity of the Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past weeks has further dampened hopes that the warring sides could reach a peace deal anytime soon days — especially after Kyiv recently embarrassed the Kremlin with a surprising drone attack on military airfields deep inside Russia.

The attack followed remarks by US President Donald Trump, who stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had informed him of Moscow's intention to retaliate against Ukraine's planned strike on Russian military airfields on Sunday.

Trump also commented that it might be preferable to allow Ukraine and Russia to “fight for a while” before intervening to broker peace — a notable shift from his usual calls to end the conflict. His statements suggested a potential retreat from recent efforts to facilitate a peaceful resolution.

According to a report by Reuters, Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that a civilian industrial site in the city was hit by a massive Russian strike involving 40 drones, one missile, and four bombs, sparking a fire. He added that people may still be trapped under the rubble.

According to the Ukrainian military, Russia launched a total of 206 drones, along with 2 ballistic missiles and 7 other missiles in an overnight assault across Ukraine.

Air defense forces shot down 87 drones, while another 80 were either diverted using electronic warfare systems or were decoys without warheads, Reuters reported.

(With inputs from agencies)