Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russian forces attacked downtown Kharkiv using a FAB-500 bomb on Oct. 28, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. The strike damaged the Derzhprom building (the State Industry Building), which has been under enhanced UNESCO protection since 2022.
“A Russian air strike severely damaged the Derzhprom in Kharkiv, one of the world’s most famous constructivist buildings under provisional enhanced UNESCO protection,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X. “Appeasement never brings peace; it simply feeds the aggressor’s appetite. Instead, we must isolate the aggressor and increase the pressure on him until he ceases terror.”
Derzhprom was the first skyscraper built in the Soviet Union.
Around 9 p.m. local time, a series of explosions occurred in the city. The strikes caused a fire and heavy smoke in the central part of Kharkiv.
At least eight people were injured in the attack, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service.
“The Derzhprom — a building known to every citizen of Kharkiv — wasn’t destroyed during World War II, and now Russians are trying to destroy it,” Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, told the Kyiv Independent reporter on the ground shortly after the strike. “It’s painful to see. But I can assure you, by morning, you won’t see any rubble around it.”
The attack also damaged a medical facility as well as administrative buildings.
Kharkiv has endured constant Russian attacks for over two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The last few months have seen intensifying strikes against densely populated areas of the city.
Ukrainian officials have also warned that Moscow is once again preparing to carry out strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of the winter months, causing blackouts and disruptions to essential services.
Additional reporting by Boldizsár Győri.
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