Russian S-300 missiles strike Kharkiv by night: destruction and casualties reported

In the early hours of December 8, Russian forces launched six missile strikes using S-300 rockets on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv, says the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

The Russian attack was later confirmed by the Kharkiv Regional Police, Rubryka reports.

Locals described hearing explosions in the city around 3:00 a.m. on December 8. Hits were recorded in the Holodnohirskyi and Shevchenkivskyi city districts.

Initial estimates indicate that the attack involved S-300 missiles. According to the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, the Russian troops delivered at least five strikes. 

There are reports of damage to civilian residential infrastructure. Police data indicates that a 36-year-old woman sustained injuries, and medical assistance was provided to her on-site. A 25-year-old man with injuries has been hospitalized, and his condition is reported as satisfactory. Rescue teams have worked to eliminate the aftermath.

At 07:47, the Air Force reported another group of missiles heading toward the Chuhuiv district of the Kharkiv region en route to the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Current situation in the Kharkiv region

During the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, Russian occupiers seized areas of the northeastern Kharkiv region that border Russia. Ukrainian forces liberated almost the entire territory of the Kharkiv region in the fall of last year.

However, after de-occupation, Russians have daily shelled the Kharkiv region, with the Kupiansk district suffering the most due to close proximity to the Russian border and occupied territories. On November 12, around 7:30 p.m., Russian forces launched a missile strike on an entertainment complex in Kharkiv.

On the night of November 3, the Russians conducted a massive attack on Kharkiv and its suburbs, using at least ten Russian attack drones targeting civilian infrastructure.

Due to dangerous conditions, the authorities announced the forced evacuations of children in five communities of the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region. 275 minors and their families from 66 settlements were relocated to safer locations.

As reported, on the night of November 25, Russia conducted one of the largest launches of "Shahed" UAVs into Ukraine.