On September 1, 2024, Russian forces struck three locations in the city of Kharkiv more than 10 times: the Kharkiv Palace of Sports, a shopping center in the Saltivskyi district, and areas near the Hydropark in the Kyivskyi district. The damage included a Nova Poshta branch, shops, a sports complex, a shopping center, vehicles, and one energy facility.
According to Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov, several explosions were heard in the city.
“In a treacherous attack in broad daylight, the occupiers struck places visited by hundreds of Kharkiv residents every day. This is real terrorism,” the Head of the Regional Military Administration noted.
Syniehubov also noted that the operation to clear rubble at the sports complex—where one of the missiles hit—is ongoing:
“People may still be under the rubble, so search-and-rescue operations continue. One man who works there as an electrician was trapped in the debris. He is now safe. At least six impacts were recorded near the sports complex, some of which hit the ground.”
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that as of 17:38 there was information about 44 people injured. “Seven of them are children; the youngest is three months old,” he added.
Terekhov noted that as a result of the strike on the Saltivskyi district, 22 people were injured, including two children and two medics. An ambulance was heading to the site of the missile strike; the doctors did not even have time to provide aid to the wounded because they themselves came under fire.
“The team set off immediately and stopped in front of the shopping center. Then there was a second impact—hit nearby, and shrapnel damaged the vehicle. The doctor sustained a traumatic brain injury; the paramedic suffered a lower-leg fracture from shrapnel. The driver, fortunately, was not injured. The paramedic’s condition is stable; he is not in danger and has undergone surgery. The doctor has not yet regained consciousness,” said Viktor Zabashta, Head of the Emergency Medical Care Center.
Head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office Oleksandr Filchakov reported that, according to preliminary information, the occupiers struck Kharkiv with Iskander-M missiles.
“During an inspection of the scene, investigators and prosecutors discovered and seized fragments of a missile that hit today just a few meters from the entrance to the Target hypermarket in the Saltivskyi district. These are metal fragments of a distinctive green color—the color characteristic of Iskander-M missiles,” the prosecutor noted.
Toward evening, the Russians shelled the city again.
As a reminder, on August 30, 2024, Russian forces carried out five air strikes from Russia’s Belgorod region on Kharkiv using UMPB D-30 munitions. Bodies of the dead near an entrance, wounded children, burned-out cars, and a high-rise building engulfed in flames—these are the consequences of another Russian strike on Kharkiv with guided aerial bombs.
This piece was produced with the support of The Fritt Ord Foundation.
Contributors:
Topic researcher, text author: Vira Labych
Photo editor: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yuliia Futei
