Russian strike kills one, wounds nine in Kharkiv

An agricultural worker operates a combine during wheat harvesting in a field, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. File

| Photo Credit: Reuters

FS A Russian aerial attack killed one person and wounded nine others in Kharkiv city in eastern Ukraine, local authorities said on Saturday (June 20, 2026).

Moscow and Kyiv have escalated attacks on each other in recent weeks, as U.S.-led talks on ending the conflict that began in February 2022 remain effectively frozen.

Read more about Russia-Ukraine crisis here

Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov reported early on Saturday (June 20, 2026) that a woman was trapped under rubble after a "guided aerial bomb strike" hit a residential area.

"Sadly, during search and rescue operations, the body of a person who was killed was found under the rubble of the destroyed building," Mr. Terekhov said in an update on Telegram.

The strike on Kharkiv's Kholodnogirsky district wounded nine people, with five of them hospitalised, according to Oleg Synegubov, the head of the regional military administration.

Authorities in Kherson, in southern Ukraine, reported that a 72-year-old woman was wounded in a drone strike in Zelenivka.

Three people were also wounded in drone attacks in Kherson's Korabelny district, authorities said.

Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday (June 20, 2026) morning that its air defences shot down 187 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles across the country overnight.

The latest unmanned aerial strikes come two days after Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow, sparking fires, hitting a major oil refinery and forcing evacuations at the country's largest airport.

Published - June 20, 2026 11:45 am IST